Henderson

Hello everyone, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund here to bring you the WCW Hotline Report!! I've got all the latest news, rumors, and the official card for this Sunday's SuperBrawl PPV! I'll also be able to give you the card for Monday Nitro following SuperBrawl! First, a major announcement; WCW has official signed a contract of a major wrestler. I'm not at liberty to give away the details, only that you will be seeing this superstar on WCW programming very soon. This is a major signing for WCW and that's the most I can reveal. The WWF held their In Your House PPV which saw Diesel successfully defend the WWF title in a 3-way match against the Warrior and Owen Hart. Psycho Sid also defeated Razor Ramon in what was considered the match of the night and a 99/100. The rest of the show was considered to be "sub par." Speaking of the Ultimate Warrior, it was reported that he picked up an injury in that main event. He's suffering from Patellar Tendonitis, and while that won't keep him out of the ring, it is expected to hinder his performance for about the next year and one month. Sensuous Sherri Martel was on a radio show this past week and revealed that she and Rick Steiner are dating. This took quite a few people by surprise. Jimmy Snuka and the Iron Sheik have both announced that they are retiring from in-ring competition in the next 3 months. Neither is currently employed by any company, so their announcements aren't expected to impact anything. WCW has announced the release of The Renegade, Wayne Bruce (Buddy Lee Parker), Col. Robert Parker, and Pez Whatley. WCW has also reported that Johnny B Badd has picked up a Grade III AC Joint Separation and will be out of in-ring action for the next month. WCW SuperBrawl: WCW World Heavyweight Title: The Giant vs Macho Man Randy Savage (c) Disco Inferno vs Paul Orndorff 60 Minute Match: Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair Hulk Hogan vs Arn Anderson Television Title: Eddie Guerrero vs Lord Steven Regal (c) Monday Nitro: Eddie Guerrero vs Ricky Steamboat Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs Steiner Brothers (c) Faces of Fear vs American Males I'm told that the tag team titles had to be pushed to Monday Nitro as they didn't have enough time to put them on SuperBrawl. Stay tuned the rest of the week!!!

Week 4, February 1996 LIVE from the Breslin Center (Great Lakes) Attendance: 15,000 (SELLOUT!) Nitro opens this week, not with the usual fireworks display and introduction of the announce booth, but rather Hulk Hogan is seen backstage tying his boots and doing some stretches. As Hogan is warming up for the night, he's approached by someone, though not someone you would expect...... Hogan stands straight up to meet "Mr. Wonderful." After a few seconds, Orndorff lets his intention known; Orndorff: Ya know, you may not have noticed, Hulk, but here lately, I've been on a roll, trying to re-establish myself in WCW and getting back to the top of the mountain... Hogan: Yeah, brother, I've seen what you've been doing lately. What's that got to do with me? Hulk, the two of us have quite the history, you know. I think, what better way to show I've still got what it takes than to face you, right here tonight, in a match? I took you to the limit way back when, and Hulk, I can do it again. I'll tell ya, it took some guts to come straight to me, brother. You want a match tonight? You got one! Rating: 89 Earl Robert Eaton vs Eddie Guerrero vs Nitro then proceeded to have their firework display and brief announcer introduction before going to the ring for the first match of the night. Bischoff says that we're now less than one week away from SuperBrawl and it's shaped up to be quiet the show. Eddie Guerrero looks to head into his TV title shot at SuperBrawl full of momentum and getting a win over a fellow Blue Blood. Guerrero managed to do just that as he put Eaton away at 8:22 after hitting a nice Frog Splash. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 70 Mean Gene welcomes the fans to this week's Monday Nitro. As usual, he's standing in the middle of the ring following a commercial break and introduces his guest here tonight; A man who's made no mistake about who he wants to face in the middle of this ring, a man who's gone to great lengths to get the attention of his desired opponent, and a member of the 4 Horsemen, The Enforcer Arn Anderson! Double A gets in the ring and Mean Gene gets down to business. He says for weeks, he's been going after Hulk Hogan and for weeks, Hogan has been disregarding the Enforcer. Arn says that time for avoidance is over and that it is official; Hulk Hogan will face Arn Anderson at SuperBrawl this Sunday, and there's nothing he can do to get out of it. Arn says that he would have preferred this be for the title because there's nothing he'd have loved more than to pin Hogan's shoulders to the mat 1,2,3 and also take the World Title from him, but says that's going to have to be for another time. Arn says Hogan's got a date with destiny this Sunday night, and destiny is him losing. Rating: 81 Sting vs Dean Malenko vs The crowd are always excited to see the Stinger and they were also happy to be treated to a competitive match, though it didn't last very long. Malenko showed promise, but did not have enough to beat the Stinger. Sting got the submission victory at 7:35 after a Scorpion Deathlock. Winner: Sting Rating: 73 Backstage, Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat are caught in a huge brawl. The two are fighting all around the backstage area and Ric Flair is particularly vicious tonight. After the two are eventually separated, Flair can be heard yelling "You're mine!!" over and over again before he's eventually dragged away by officials. Steamboat remains on camera, clearly furious at the Nature Boy's actions. Rating: 80 Paul Orndorff vs Hulk Hogan vs Hulk Hogan had the performance of the night and though Mr. Wonderful tried his best, he was clearly a few steps behind the Hulkster, performance-wise. The match went on for quite a while, maybe too long which ended up exposing Orndorff a bit, but it was full of drawn out story between the two and highlighting their prior interactions. The highlight of the match saw Orndorff hit his Piledriver on the Hulkster, however, Hogan leapt right to his feet. Three punches and a big boot later, Orndorff crashed hard to the mat. Hogan then hit his Leg Drop for the victory at 14:36. Winner: Hulk Hogan Rating: 83 Nitro comes to a close this week after a video package is played, showing the feud and interactions between Savage and the Giant, leading all the way back before Halloween Havoc 1995. It all is expected to end this Sunday at SuperBrawl..... Or will it??? Rating: 98 Final Show Rating: 88

Week 3, February 1996 LIVE from the New Haven Coliseum (New England) Attendance: 9,823 Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes welcome everyone to this week's edition of WCW Monday Nitro! The fireworks go off and fans in the arena are rabid and excited for action for this week's Nitro! Bischoff reminds everyone that we're less than two weeks away from WCW SuperBrawl and last week on Nitro, everyone was stunned with the Macho Man's impromptu challenge to Hulk Hogan, only for the Giant to come down and cause the match to be thrown out. Dusty says that the Giant interfered to get back some revenge on Hulk Hogan interfering in his opportunity to win the title. Heenan doesn't think the three can be contained, meanwhile, Arn Anderson is breathing down Hogan's neck for a match. Bischoff tells us that we're going backstage to kick things off on Nitro, as there seems to be an argument taking place! Ricky Steamboat is just arriving to the arena just to be confronted by Ric Flair, who's flanked by Arn Anderson, Brian Pillman, and Steve Austin. The 4 Horsemen all taunt Steamboat but mainly Ric Flair is jawing at him. Steamboat doesn't back down from the foursome and challenges Flair to come at him. Steamboat tells Flair that he knows he's nervous about their 60 minute match at SuperBrawl and is trying to lure Steamboat in for a 4-on-1 attack. Steamboat also tells Flair that he hopes he's been training, because The Dragon's in the best shape of his life. The Horsemen eventually work their way off as Steamboat continues into the backstage area. Rating: 90 Diamond Dallas Page vs Brad Armstrong vs Nitro's opening match was just a basic, run of the mill, match which did little to get the crowd hyped or bored. DDP scored the pin fall win at 7:41 after a Diamond Cutter. Winner: Diamond Dallas Page Rating: 64 The Macho Man is backstage to cut a promo. Savage says last week he gave Hogan a straight up opportunity to become World Champion and he couldn't beat the Macho Man. He says Hogan's done with getting opportunities and that Hogan now needs to stay out of his business. Savage goes on to say that he can't really blame the Giant for interfering because Hogan stuck his nose in both Savage and the Giant's business at every turn. Savage says he's a champion of integrity and will grant the Giant a title shot at SuperBrawl, not only because he's a stand-up champion, but also because he really, really wants to be the one to defeat the Giant once and for all! Rating: 97 WCW Tag Team Titles: Blue Bloods (Dave Taylor/Robert Eaton) vs Steiner Brother's (c) vs While this pairing of the Blue Bloods might not be taken too seriously, as the announcers note, they are two very capable workers and Eaton is a former tag team champion. Unfortunately for the Bloods, they were facing the Steiner's. Rick Steiner had the top performance of the match and the Steiner's put it away at 10:09 after a Steiner Bulldog. Winners: Steiner Brother's Rating: 67 Following a commercial break, no Monday Nitro is complete without a Mean Gene Okerlund interview. He welcomes everyone back to Monday Nitro and says in less than two weeks, WCW will hold SuperBrawl, and his guest right now just found out earlier tonight that he's getting another World Title opportunity. Mean Gene introduces his guest; The Giant. Gene says that last week the Giant got involved in an unscheduled title match between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage and questioned why he would do that after complaining about Hulk Hogan's involvement in his own matches. Giant says that it was simply giving Hogan a taste of his own medicine. He also says that he can finish Hogan any time he wishes, and Hogan knows it. Giant says that is the last warning for Hogan before he puts him out for good. Onto the Macho Man, the Giant says that Savage's generosity is going to be his own demise because at SuperBrawl, not only is he going to maim and decimate Randy Savage, but he's going to take his title and become the new champion....And after the Giant wins the title, there isn't going to be one wrestler in WCW that can defeat him. Rating: 85 The Giant leaves and Mean Gene tells everyone that WCW is going to take another quick break. When Nitro returns, Mean Gene is still standing in the ring and says he's got two more guests to welcome out here tonight for the official announcement of the TV title match for SuperBrawl. He welcomes first the challenger, Eddie Guerrero and once Eddie steps in the ring, he welcomes the Television Champion, Lord Steven Regal. With both competitors in the ring, Mean Gene hypes up the match, claiming Steven Regal to be the face of the TV title, being a 3-time champion and Eddie Guerrero, the fast rising star within WCW who looks to begin his own domination. Regal is completely disgusted by anything Eddie does or says and just drips overconfidence. Both men hype up why they're going to win the match at SuperBrawl, with Regal leaving it with a simple, "Because I'm better than you." Rating: 75 Meng vs Lex Luger vs This match ended up being a hard-hitting match between two physical guys who neither backed down. Luger gave a fantastic performance and had the crowd on their feet the entire time. Meng proved to be a top competitor within the WCW echelon and dished out plenty of punishment on the Total Package. Luger was able to overcome Meng in the end, though, and put the match away at 9:42 with a Torture Rack. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 79 Just as Luger is celebrating his victory and Nitro is prepared to go off the air, Eric Bischoff says there's activity going on backstage and they're going to get cameras back there hopefully in time before Nitro goes off the air.... Cameras pull up to the backstage area to see Hulk Hogan and Arn Anderson in an all-out fight. Anderson is mostly taking control over Hogan, who's doing his best to defend himself, but it's to no avail. Despite catching the two mid-fight, it's clear that Arn Anderson sneak attacked Hogan, as he's unable to really get an attack of his own going. Officials flood into view and try to break the two apart as Nitro fades off the air. Rating: 99 Final Show Rating: 87

No, they actually have great chemistry, which makes it even more odd why that match fell flat. My guess is I made the match a high-flier match, but since I can't go back and read the road agent notes, I'm just left guessing why this match sucked. It also could have been due to their overness levels at the time.

Week 2, February 1996 LIVE from the Lawrence Joel Coliseum (Mid Atlantic) Attendance: 14,600 (SELLOUT!) - WCW Monday Nitro begins in this second week of February. After the usual pyro intro, Eric Bischoff, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan welcome everyone to this week's Nitro. In recapping last week, Eric Bischoff notes that tension is running high between WCW World Heavyweight Champion Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. Bischoff says that last week, Hogan was simply trying to right a wrong and avoid Arn Anderson from wrongly becoming the new World Champion after hitting the Macho Man with brass knuckles. Bobby Heenan says that Savage is sick and tired of turning around and seeing Hulk Hogan standing there whenever he is trying to defend his title. He says Hogan doesn't even allow Savage to breathe during his own world title reign. Dusty Rhodes things that the two men will end up imploding before it's all said and done with. After the recap from last week, we go to our first match of the night! - Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Misterio Jr. vs In what should have been a very exciting matchup, ended up falling quite flat to open the show. Despite both men having solid performances (78 and 74, respectively), something about the match just didn't click. The match ended at 10:19 after Eddie hit his Frog Splash. Afterwards, both men showed great sportsmanship and shook hands. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 63 Mean Gene is backstage for the first interview of the night. He's with the man who nearly became world champion last week, if not for an attack by Hulk Hogan. He tells Arn Anderson that he shouldn't have wanted to win the world title by cheating and that Hulk Hogan saved the Enforcer from tarnishing his legacy. Double A says that Hogan should mind his own business and if he really wanted a chance at getting the world title back, he should've let him win the match last week. He said the reason he interfered is because he's scared. He knows he stands a better chance at beating the Macho Man for the title than the Enforcer. Anderson says make no mistake, he's going to face Hulk Hogan at SuperBrawl and there's no way Hogan can weasel out of it. Rating: 86 Next we get a backstage promo by Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Steamboat says he's been spending time away preparing for the 60 minute match at SuperBrawl against Ric Flair. He says the two of them have been through many battles, including other 60 minute matches, but this will be the true test of his ability and he will ultimately come away with the victory. He says Flair is a worthy athlete but it's a shame he lets his ego and cockiness get in the way of his ability. Rating: 81 Johnny B. Badd vs Paul Orndorff vs This match didn't really do much to get the crowd excited. Badd showed off all his skill and Orndorff showed that he's the grizzled veteran. The match also wasn't long as Orndorff got what's considered the surprise win at 7:42 with a piledriver. Winner: Paul Orndorff Rating: 66 The match barely ends before the Macho Man's music begins blaring through the speakers. Savage walks out with a purpose and heads toward the ring, even walking past Orndorff and Badd as they're making their way to the back. Savage climbs in the ring with the world title over his shoulder and skips his usual festivities before calling for a microphone. Savage: Hulk Hogan, every time I have a match and every time I try to defend my title, I always see your face! Last week, you again couldn't help yourself to get involved in the Macho Man's business! I'll tell ya right now Hogan, I'd rather have lost my title last week to Arn Anderson by cheating than to have you help me in any way, shape, or form!!!! I'm sick and tired up to my eyeballs of you, Hogan!!!! So what I'm gonna do right now is end this, once and for all!!! Hulk Hogan, you want this title back so bad?!??! Then get your ass out here right now and I'll put the title on the line!!! If I beat you, it's over between the two of us!!! You agree to never get involved in my business again!!! If you win, and that's a big IF, then you get what you've wanted all along - the title back. I'm not asking, Hogan, I'm TELLING you, get out here right now!!!! WCW World Heavyweight Title: Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage (c) vs Everyone from the crowd, to the announcers, to Hulk Hogan himself is shocked at this impromptu matchup on Nitro, just a couple weeks away from SuperBrawl. Hogan comes out and gets in the ring. He's seen trying to talk to the Macho Man briefly, but Savage wants none of it. He slaps Hogan across the face and then pushes him. Hogan tears off his shirt as the referee calls for the bell and the crowd is beside themselves. The two men brawl in the ring and all around the ringside area and nearly break every rule there is along the way. This goes on for nearly the entire match and no one gains the upper hand for longer than a couple minutes at a time. As Hogan and Savage fight away inside the ring, the crowd all start to look toward the stage area and after a moment, the cameras switch to see why. The Giant climbs in the ring and goes straight for both Hogan and Savage. As he grabs both men, the referee, unfortunately, has no choice but to call for the bell at 14:57, resulting in a no-contest due to interference. Rating: 71 Nitro isn't quite over, however. The Giant grabs both Hogan and Savage around their necks as the bell rings. The Giant looks to hit a double chokeslam on both competitors, but Hogan and Savage actually begin to work together to fight back against the Giant. Some kicks to the Giant's midsection gets him to loosen his grip around their throats. Hogan and Savage briefly look at one another before running back and off the ropes, hitting a double clothesline on the Giant. He doesn't fall down though, he merely staggers backwards. Hogan and Savage again go off the ropes and rush toward the Giant, this time sending him over the top rope and to the floor where he lands on his feet. As the Giant retreats back up the aisle, Hogan attempts to celebrate with Savage, but the world champion wants none of it. Savage pushes Hogan off and says things aren't over between the two of them. Nitro fades off as Hogan and Savage again start to argue, but don't come to blows. Rating: 95 Final Show Rating: 79

Yeah, I'm guessing I used the "Wild Brawl" booking note which caused the low grade. Booker T had a pretty good performance and Stevie Ray's was solid. Thanks for the feedback!! As another little side note, I haven't done any recaps of Saturday Night's because I had auto booked quite a few shows at this point. As a matter of fact, I didn't personally book Saturday Night again until after SuperBrawl. I also haven't done any Hotline reports because there hasn't been a whole lot of news in the world at the time. I will also keep doing ratings comparisons, but sadly the WWF don't really come close to me in the ratings for awhile despite both TNT and USA networks having the same coverage. I've only been doing the ratings from those two networks but maybe I'll see how the WWF's total rating looks compared to WCW. I also made an error. The argument between Savage and Hogan to close out Nitro actually scored a 100 rating, not an 80.

Week 1, February 1996 LIVE from The Pit (Mid South) Attendance: 13,952 Television Title: Rey Misterio Jr vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs Nitro goes straight to the ring for the first match of the night where exciting high-flier Rey Misterio Jr tries to win the TV title from the BlueBlood Steven Regal. Mike Tenay goes through Misterio's Mexican history and how Rey is temporarily on loan from the CMLL promotion in Mexico. Both competitors performed extremely well in this opening match and dazzled the crowd. Regal successfully defended the title and the match ended at 9:31 with a Regal Stretch. Winner: Lord Steven Regal Rating: 64 Mean Gene is backstage with Harlem Heat for an interview. Gene says that Heat has a match coming up next against the Nasty Boys but first wanted to get a few words and thoughts about the Steiner Brothers. Booker T says the fight isn't over between them and the Steiner's and that they want their title rematch at SuperBrawl. Stevie Ray says that the Heat worked hard to establish themselves as the top team in WCW and if the Steiner's can swoop back into WCW and claim the top spot, they have another thing coming. The Steiner's can enjoy being champions for a couple more weeks, but after that, Harlem Heat reclaims their spot. Rating: 74 Harlem Heat vs Nasty Boys vs Harlem Heat clearly had something to prove in this match and pulled no punches against the Nasty Boys. They controlled the entire match and showed great teamwork, easily putting the match away at 7:51 after a Harlem Hangover. Winners: Harlem Heat Rating: 58 Mean Gene is backstage again and calls in 4 Horsemen member and current WCW United States Champion, Brian Pillman. Gene reminds Pillman that he faced Lex Luger at Clash of the Champions but refused to put the title on the line. Pillman ended up losing to Luger so could he possibly now think Luger is worth a title opportunity? Pillman: Mean Gene Okerlund, just because Lex Luger managed to get lucky at Clash of the Champions doesn't mean that he's a worthy contender to my title! Now, before you go all crazy on me and accuse me of dodging a challenge....Heh, after all, I'm not Hulk Hogan, who's too afraid to face the Enforcer....I'm not too afraid to face Lex Luger again, that's how confident I am in my abilities. As a matter of fact, Mean Gene, I'm feeling in a generous mood, so you know what? I WILL put my US title on the line against Lex Luger, and you know what? I'll put it on the line at SuperBrawl! So after I beat Luger at SuperBrawl and successfully defend my title, Lex Luger will then have absolutely NO excuse or reason to EVER get another opportunity at my title again! Rating: 77 WCW World Title: Arn Anderson vs Randy Savage (c) vs The crowd were excited for this matchup and both wrestlers were perfect at keeping the hype going throughout the match. Savage was a ball of fire in this match and had Anderson reeling. Double A eventually took control after a couple of cheap shots to slow the champion down. After Anderson hit his signature Spinebuster he went for the pin, only for Savage to kick out at 2. Anderson signaled that he was going to finish things off and then hit his DDT, sure that this would get him the championship. Savage again managed to kick out at 2, much to the crowd's delight. Anderson was now frustrated and shielded himself from the referee as he proceeded to pull a foreign object from his tights. This turned out to be brass knuckles as he secured them on his fist. With the referee still oblivious, Anderson picks up Savage from the mat, but the Macho Man blocks the punch from Anderson and fires his own fist as the crowd erupts. Anderson tries another punch, only for Savage to block that and hit his own punch. With Anderson reeling, Savage runs off the ropes to hit an axehandle, but Anderson floors Savage with a punch with the brass knuckles. Savage drops and Anderson quickly puts the brass knucks back in his tights. The referee is now suspicious and asks Anderson if he did anything questionable, to which of course he shakes his head no. The crowd suddenly comes to life again and the cameras pan to the aisle... Hulk Hogan is running to the ring and has a steel chair in hand. Anderson doesn't see Hogan coming to the ring as his attention is on the Macho Man. As Anderson is approaching to pin Savage, Hogan climbs in the ring and promptly bashes Anderson in the back with the chair. The referee sees this happen and immediately calls for the disqualification. Anderson rolls out of the ring and retreats toward the back as Hogan, steel chair still in hand, yells at the Enforcer as the referee declares Anderson the winner by DQ. Winner by DQ: Arn Anderson Rating: 80 Hogan continues to yell at Anderson from the ring and eventually Savage gets to his feet and see's Hogan standing in the ring with a chair in his hand. Savage, now furious, grabs Hogan and spins him around. The two men go nose to nose in argument as Nitro fades out to a close. Rating: 80 Final Show Rating: 84

Week 4, January 1996 LIVE from the Hilton Coliseum Attendance: 12,685 - Nitro goes right into their usual kickoff for the show, pyro and crowd shots and proceeds to the announce booth. Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes welcome everyone to this week's Nitro broadcast. Bischoff informs everyone that the WCW World Heavyweight Champion Macho Man Randy Savage is here tonight and we will hear from the champion. He mentions that Savage was not in attendance last week after the fallout from Clash of the Champions, but he IS here tonight! They all speculate as to what Savage will have to say, but the consensus is that it will revolve around Hulk Hogan again getting involved in a title match of Savage's. First things first though, and they are headed straight to the ring for the first match of the night! - Diamond Dallas Page vs Eddie Guerrero vs This grudge match was set up last week when Eddie challenged DDP, as a result of a recent feud between the two. Though the feud began over the Television title, neither man in this matchup holds that title currently. They were given a fair amount of time for the opening match which ended at 11:18 when Guerrero pinned DDP following a Frog Splash. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 60 Mean Gene interviews Arn Anderson backstage. Anderson says that Hulk Hogan needs to pencil the Enforcer in for a match at SuperBrawl, because he's dodged him long enough, and it's time Double A gets his hands on him finally. Anderson says he knows Hogan doesn't have a set match yet and there's no way he can avoid a match any longer. Rating: 72 The interview then transitions into an interview with the Giant. He says that Savage is feeling the pressure as champion and he can't handle it. Giant says there's unfinished business between him and Savage and that SuperBrawl will be a perfect time to finally settle it. Savage is yet to definitively defeat the Giant, and until he's able to do so, there are no other challengers. Rating: 90 WCW Tag Team Titles: Faces of Fear vs Steiner Brothers (c) vs This was a great hard-hitting match between two physical teams that didn't back down from the other. The Faces of Fear proved why they're worthy title contenders, but the Steiner's proved equally why they're the champions. It was a great showing from the Faces of Fear, but the Steiner's won the match at 7:52 following a Steiner Bulldog. Winners: Steiner Brothers Rating: 75 Following a commercial, the night is drawing to a close but it's not over quite yet. The Macho Man's music begins playing, which brings the crowd to their feet. Savage comes out with the world title around his shoulder and he makes his way to the ring. He taunts the crowd a good bit after climbing in and it's revealed he already has a microphone in hand. The music fades out and Savage addresses the crowd. He says he finally became the WCW World Champion and wanted to prove to not only the fans that he still had it, but prove to himself. He's wanted to have a world title reign to be proud of and finish his career off on a high note, but there's one person who keeps butting in where they don't belong, and that person is Hulk Hogan! Savage says that Hogan can't stand being out of the spot light and he's always been concerned that the Macho Man is better than him. Savage says this is the last warning he's giving Hogan to stay out of his business and focus on his own problems, like Arn Anderson. Savage finishes by saying Hogan can interfere in all his matches, but he knows Hogan will never be as good as he is. Rating: 100 Sting vs Ric Flair vs This match had the crowd in the palm of their hand. Flair easily had the performance of the night and the two showcased all of the classic moves that have been constant whenever they battle. Despite the fans probably being able to call every spot, they remained engaged and excited throughout. This was a straight-up, no interference match between the competitors and ended at 15:49 after Flair submitted to the Scorpion Deathlock. Winner: Sting Rating: 74 Final Show Rating: 81

Week 3, Monday, January 1996 WCW Monday Nitro LIVE from the Breslin Center - East Lansing, MI Attendance: 14,450 After the usual Monday Nitro intro, Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and tonight, Dusty Rhodes, waste no time getting right down to business. Just 24 hours removed from Clash of the Champions and Bischoff tells everyone what a huge night it was. We have new WCW tag team champions by way of the Steiner Brothers, yet no definitive winner in the feuds between Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair, and the Giant and Randy Savage. Heenan makes note that between Steamboat and Flair, both men are taking the other to the limit and that was observed again last night at Clash of the Champions. Both men were too exhausted, bloodied, and broken to get to their feet before a 10 count. Bischoff mentions between the Giant and Savage, Hulk Hogan continues to make his presence known. There's going to be much to unravel here tonight, but first, Nitro is going straight to the ring for the first match! Dave Taylor & Earl Robert Eaton vs American Males vs The tag team division within WCW continues to get stronger and both of these teams were wanting to put forth a solid effort to prove to be top contenders. The American Males perhaps had more to lose in this match, as they ended up losing in a tough effort last night at Clash. They were able to pick up the win at 7:12 after Riggs hit the Ameriplex on Taylor. Winners: American Males Rating: 58 Sabu is in the ring for the next match, but rather than hearing music, the crowd gets to their feet and look to the entry way. People begin to get active as they see who's walking toward the ring... Bischoff remarks that Sabu is not scheduled to face the Giant; In fact, the Giant isn't even listed in a match here tonight, but judging by what happened last night, he's going to have plenty to say. The Giant walks right to the ring and climbs up before stepping over the top rope to enter. Without so much as a warning, the Giant grabs Sabu around the neck with his huge hand and lifts him high in the air before dropping him with a chokeslam. The referee tries to talk some reason into the Giant, but that was a huge mistake. The Giant promptly grabs the referee and drops him with a chokeslam as well. This results in more officials hitting the ring, and one by one, the Giant drops each with a chokeslam. Suddenly a slew of officials begin to get in the ring but it's just more carnage and more bodies laying around the ring. The Giant's completely enraged and as more officials come out, his anger multiplies. Suddenly cheers can be heard from the crowd and the fans at home soon see why.. Sting climbs in the ring and walks right up to the Giant, not hesitating a bit. The announce team question if this is brave of Sting or just plain dumb, but either way, the Stinger doesn't show any ounce of being intimidated by the Giant. The Giant doesn't attempt to attack Sting but Sting can be seen saying something to the Giant, who looks poised to attack at any moment. Sting takes a couple of steps back before looking toward the ringside area and calling for a microphone. Sting: I've gotta tell ya, Giant....After what happened to you last night, I guess I'd be pretty upset too, but it doesn't prove a whole heck of a lot when you come out here and you want to beat up a bunch of officials and referees....So if you want to take your aggression out on someone here tonight, the Stinger's available, so why don't you...Even the playing field a little bit and face ME?! The Giant doesn't take the microphone, he simply nods and exclaims that he'll take the match. Sting motions to one of the still-standing referees that we're having the match now, as the announcers proclaim we've got an impromptu match right now on Nitro! Rating: 70 Sting vs The Giant vs Sting goes straight into his attack but the Giant shrugs it off. The attempted attack only lasted for a short while and afterwards, it was complete domination by the Giant. Sting ended up looking like a rag doll, much to the dismay of the crowd, but in awe of the Giant's domination. The Giant hit Sting with a chokeslam to pick up the impressive win at 7:39. Winner: The Giant Rating: 66 After a short break, Nitro returns to the backstage interview area where Mean Gene is with Eddie Guerrero. Gene goes over the recent feud between Guerrero and Diamond Dallas Page, lastly mentioning that DDP had some recent comments about Eddie and his inability to hang onto the TV title, making a reference that he lost it on purpose to avoid a DDP rematch. Eddie says if DDP likes to talk so much that he should back it up in the ring, challenging him next week to a match. Rating: 71 Rick Steiner vs Booker T vs Both men came to the ring alone, which was a surprise to many. The announcers went over the brief history between these two teams and Heenan thinks Booker T has something to prove in this match here tonight after losing the titles last night. It was a hard hitting affair that's come to be expected between these teams and men and Rick Steiner again had a surprisingly good performance. It wasn't enough in the end though, as Booker T got the win at 8:22 with a Harlem Hangover. Winner: Booker T Rating: 74 After another short break, Mean Gene is standing in the center of the ring, which means only one thing. He introduces his guest, none other than the Nature Boy Ric Flair! Only the Nature Boy doesn't come out alone, he's accompanied by the entire 4 Horsemen. They make their way to the ring where Double A holds open the ropes for the Nature Boy to step in. They surround themselves around Mean Gene as he gets down to the questions. Gene: Well you've certainly brought the entire crew here with you tonight, Nature Boy. If I could--- Flair: Mean Gene, pal, normally Nature Boy is all about festivities, kissing the girls, partying all night and partying a little longer, and laughing and playing games....But tonight, I'm not in the mood for anything aside from getting down to business! Ricky Steamboat?!?! I've had enough of you, pal! I've had enough of you being just like a cockroach, you won't stay down! I've faced you twice in 20 minute time limits....That wasn't enough! I thought sure to God that putting the two of us inside a steel cage, where there's no way out, only one winner, would end it....It wasn't enough!! I'm sick and tired of everywhere I go, people ask me - "Nach, why can't you put that punk Steamboat down?!?" They ask - "Nature Boy, have you lost a step? You can't beat Steamboat." Well hell with that!!!! Steamboat, on your best day, and clearly you've been giving it your best, you can't beat the Nature Boy!!! I've only been giving you a slim margin of hope and you couldn't put me away! I didn't want to give you any more time of day than I already had to, but I've had enough, Steamboat! You've left me no choice but to go with the last resort! Once and for all, there is no going back after this, Steamboat!!!! There will be a definitive winner, that you can bet your ass on! Steamboat, YOU and ME, at SuperBrawl, in a 60 minute match! We're gonna settle this once and for all, pal, and let me tell you, now you're going to be treading on Nature Boy territory, because nobody does 60 minutes like the Nature Boy, just ask your old lady!!!!! So Steamboat, I'm not gonna be waiting around for an answer, pal....So I want you to come out here right now and accept my challenge!!! It doesn't take long before Steamboat's music begins to play and out walks the Dragon. He stops at the top of the stage and doesn't continue toward the ring, one thing the announce team agrees on being a good idea. Steamboat has a microphone and his music fades off. I'm not going to drag this out with a long speech, Ric Flair....If you want a 60 minute match at SuperBrawl, I'd be more than happy to beat you in it! Challenge accepted! Rating: 97 Hulk Hogan vs Brian Pillman vs The Horsemen all stayed at ringside for this main event. Hogan, definitely outnumbered, but managed it well. He would routinely get distracted by each one of the Horsemen on the outside, allowing Pillman to get an attack in. The crowd was extremely hot during the match and repeatedly made chants of the Macho Man, though he never appeared. The announce team thought it was extremely suspicious that the Macho Man would be absent on the Nitro following Clash of the Champions and speculated the reasoning for it. As if there were any other outcome, Hogan overcame the distractions and interference and won the match at 11:36 with a Leg Drop. As Nitro closed, Eric Bischoff said he fully expects the Macho Man to have some sort of response to the Clash fallout. Winner: Hulk Hogan Rating: 91 Final Show Rating: 90 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 4, Monday January 1996 WCW Monday Nitro Card: Sting vs Ric Flair WCW Tag Team Titles: Faces of Fear vs Steiner Brothers (c) Eddie Guerrero vs Diamond Dallas Page

Sunday, Week 2, January 1996 WCW Presents; Clash of the Champions - Clash of the Champions kicks off as a wild crowd of 52,000 is shown here in the South East. The announcers don't announce where their location is, so we can only guess that it's some sort of generic location. Eric Bischoff reads off the card for the night and is shocked how packed this show is, considering we're just a couple weeks off from Starrcade. The announcers also fill the time saying they question how things will play out between now and SuperBrawl, considering there will be quite a bit of time between the shows. Bischoff says he's sure things will continue to heat up during the winter months and right now, Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with none other than former world heavyweight champion, Hulk Hogan! - Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, we are here at Clash of the Champions and standing by with me is a man who certainly will be paying attention to tonight's main event as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion Macho Man Randy Savage defends the title against the Giant! Hulk Hogan, you have made it a point to get involved in anything the Macho Man has been doing ever since he won that title at World War 3 as you feel like you are the rightful champion due to the fact you've not been beaten for it. Despite this, don't you think you're being a bit unfair to the Macho Man's title reign, as he tries to establish himself as champion? Hogan: Well let me tell ya something, Mean Gene! The first thing you've got to realize, brother, is that Hulk Hogan is the rightful WCW World Heavyweight Champion! I had that title stripped from me by some phantom group known as the "WCW Board of Directors." Well let me ask you, Mean Gene, just where the heck is this "Board of Directors?!" Why haven't they ever come face to face with Hulk Hogan and told me exactly why they "voted" to strip Hulk Hogan of the championship?!? Why did they let the Giant and the Dungeon of Doom run rampant on WCW, in particular on me, yet I defend myself at Halloween Havoc and get stripped of the title?!? If you ask me, Mean Gene, there's a conspiracy against Hulk Hogan, brother! There's a conspiracy because everyone knows they can't beat me for that title, so they have to go about their backhanded tactics to get that belt off of Hulk Hogan! You ask ME if I'm being unfair to the Macho Man?!?! Well Mean Gene, if anyone's being treated unfairly, it's me, brother! I'm yet to get an opportunity to get my belt back, even though I've asked repeatedly for one! To answer your question, no. I don't feel the least bit guilty for involving myself in the Macho Man's title reign. You know why, Mean Gene??? Because if the Macho Man really wanted to establish himself as the champion, brother, he would face me in a one-on-one match for that title! He could name the time, he could name the place, and he could name the stipulation, brother, and let me tell you this; If he came out of the match the winner, if he came out of that match the better man, IF he came out of that match with his hand raised, then I'd be the first one to congratulate him and shake his hand, dude! You can put all your money on the table, Mean Gene, that the Hulkster and all the little Hulkamaniacs will be paying close attention to tonight's main event! And to, up the ante a bit more, whoever comes out of tonight's match as the winner, you can bet that Hulk Hogan will be coming after them! Rating: 96 WCW Tag Team Titles: Street Fight Steiner Brothers vs Harlem Heat (c) vs The crowd were extremely hyped up for this match and Rick Steiner actually surprised critics by having the best performance in the match. Sensuous Sherri didn't accompany the champions to this match, as the conditions were a street fight, and what a fight it was. Both teams battled all over the ringside area though much of it was contained in the ring. The story of the match was that both prior times the Steiner's attempted to win the titles, Harlem Heat used underhanded tactics. Now that the match was a street fight, it evened the odds to prevent a cheating victory, as both teams could use whatever was at their disposal. One would think this would benefit the Steiner's. The end proved true, as the ending came at 13:30. After total chaos and bodies crashing all around the ringside area, Booker T was caught with a Steiner Bulldog. Stevie Ray had been beaten down too badly on the outside in order to recover in time to break up a pin fall. The Steiner's had finally accomplished their goal. Winners and NEW Champions: Steiner Brothers Rating: 77 Steve Austin vs Sting vs Clash went right into it's next match of the night, this one a fierce grudge match between two men who are pretty familiar with each other. They have gotten entangled with each other once again following Steve Austin's return to WCW by way of Ric Flair's never-ending feud with Sting. Austin had no trouble keeping up with Sting's performance in the ring and was just a step behind in speed. One thing to Austin's advantage, though, was his ability to use every dirty tactic he could whenever the referee wasn't paying attention. This wasn't enough to beat the Stinger though, but it did make for a very competitive match. Sting won in 13:14 after a submission by way of the Scorpion Deathlock. Winner: Sting Rating: 80 - After a short promotional video hyping SuperBrawl, Hulk Hogan is seen backstage watching a monitor. Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, Hogan is bashed from behind with a steel chair. The camera zooms out to see who the attacker is.... The Enforcer uses the chair a couple more times on the downed Hulkster and after he's satisfied with that, he tosses the chair aside. Anderson then starts laying the boots into Hogan, who remains down on the cold concrete. After he's finished, he taunts Hogan, telling him that he might refuse to face Anderson in a match, but sooner or later, he won't have a choice. Anderson walks off while Hogan remains on the ground. - Rating: 99 American Males vs Faces of Fear vs Few things could be better than the American Males theme song and one of those are the tandem dropkicks performed by Scotty Riggs and Marcus Bagwell. There were plenty of those on display in this match, though they didn't have their desired effect on two men so high on the manly meter as Meng and the Barbarian. These two teams were vying for the #1 contendership to the tag team titles and have been working for weeks to establish the spot. The American Males, while giving a great effort, weren't able to overcome the brutality of the Faces of Fear. The match ended at 7:42 after the Barbarian connected with the Boot of Fear on Riggs, scoring the win. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 66 - Diamond Dallas Page conducts a backstage promo where he talks about Eddie Guerrero. DDP says Eddie was such a terrible TV Champion and now that he's lost the title, DDP has to try and go after Regal. DDP also says he knows Eddie was afraid to face him, but he didn't have to go the length he did by losing to Regal. - Rating: 80 WCW Television Title: Brad Armstrong vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs Many may have gone into this match counting Armstrong out as being competitive, but showed a lot of people that he's possibly a main contender to Steven Regal and the TV title. The announcers mention how Armstrong has been racking up wins on Saturday Night and proclaiming that he's coming after the TV title, no matter who the champion is. Regal may have also overlooked Armstrong as he was caught off guard several times in this match. The match ended at 11:43 when Regal was fortunate enough to catch Armstrong in a dropkick attempt. Regal wasted no time locking in the Regal Stretch for the submission victory. Winner: Steven Regal Rating: 79 Larry Zbyszko is backstage in the interview area, standing by with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Zbyszko asks Steamboat if he's prepared for his match tonight against Flair, this time a cage match after the previous two matches went to a time limit draw. Steamboat says he's ready and focused and will give it everything he's got tonight. He said while he isn't happy with the time limit finishes, he's proven that he can go the distance just as well as Flair can, and tonight he's excited to finally have a clear winner once and for all. Rating: 69 Lex Luger vs Brian Pillman vs There wasn't much hype or lead up given to this match ahead of time, which is probably why this match wasn't for the US Championship. There had been some leadup in the way of Sting/Luger and Pillman/Austin leaving some people to question why it wasn't a tag team match instead, but there had already been prior matches. Some also think this was done in order to clearly establish feuds between the competitors. Despite little buildup, the crowd was extremely hot for this match and both Luger and Pillman gave great performances. There were many who argued that this could have been the main event. Much like Austin in his match, Pillman used every dirty trick available to him, but as you can guess, since the US title wasn't on the line, Pillman did not come away with the win. The match ended at 11:39 after submission to the Torture Rack. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 92 Cage Match: Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair vs Another match that the crowd was extremely hyped for was finally here. Both men made their fairly elaborate entrances. Steamboat, while not flashy, definitely had an aura about him during his entrance. Flair, as usual, played it up, full of fancy robes, fireworks, and strutting to the ring. Ric Flair, by far, had the performance of the night, being compared to a 95/100. Nearly perfect of a performance, many say. The cage door shut and the match was under way. Steamboat came out on fire, relentlessly attacking Flair. Flair did his best to try and get away from Steamboat, but being locked in a cage offered no retreat. Flair attempted to climb the cage a few times, only to be caught by Steamboat, resulting in the off-camera side (thankfully) getting a full view at the Nature Boy's hind parts. As the match went on, both men traded offense and both men used the cage to their advantage, showing the world how veteran wrestlers work in a cage. As the match passed the 20 minute mark, a first between the two of them during the course of their feud, both men's faces ended up in a crimson mask due to the brutal use of the steel cage. After multiple pin attempts by both men, it was clear that neither wanted to suffer defeat despite their exhausted state. Flair was able to hit a few chops to Steamboat, and while weak in his knees, still refused to fall to the mat. Flair gave a chop block to the back of Steamboat's knee which finally caused him to crumble to the mat. After barely making it back to his feet himself, Flair saw his opportunity, though brief and went to the corner, slowly climbing up to the top rope. Flair took a look up above to the high steel cage and slowly began his climb to escape the cage. Just as Flair's second foot left the top turnbuckle, Steamboat managed to catch Flair by the foot. Steamboat climbed up to the top rope as well and the men began trading punches. Both weary and hanging onto the cage to prevent their fall, Steamboat finally hooked Flair in position for a Superplex. The crowd all exclaimed as both men crashed hard to the mat, not moving. The referee began the mandatory 10 count and everyone held their breath. When the referee reached the count of 8, there still was no movement on the mat. It seemed for a brief moment that the referee paused at 9, not wanting to make the final count, but at 24:44, he had no choice. It was clear that neither man was getting up, and they didn't. The bell rang and the referee was forced to call this match another draw. Winner: Draw Rating: 91 - In a moment to seemingly give the fans a chance to catch their breath following an amazing match, a hype video is played highlighting the feud between the Macho Man and the Giant, dating all the way back to before Halloween Havoc. - Rating: 86 Tony Schiavone is backstage with the Giant before the final match of the night. The Giant towers over Schiavone as he has to fully extend his arm to reach the microphone up to him. The Giant says he's ready and tonight isn't about anyone else except the Giant and the Macho Man and tonight, a Giant will finally claim his throne. Rating: 75 WCW World Heavyweight Title: The Giant vs Randy Savage (c) vs Many could see this match as disappointing following the last two matches, but this was still a good match that had the crowd on their feet, even if they may have been a little burned out. If people thought this would be a quick match, they would turn out to be very wrong, just like if they were expecting a technical masterpiece. The Macho Man used his quickness to his advantage and the Giant used his size to his, to no one's surprise. Savage did attempt, and failed, to body slam the Giant during the match, and this was the moment of the downfall. As Savage lay on the mat clutching his back, the referee leaned over to check on him. The Giant thought this would be a good moment to run to the ropes, however, he toppled over them and crashed hard to the floor. This wasn't an accident though, as everyone saw why this happened. Hulk Hogan had made his way to the ring and had pulled down the top rope, causing the Giant to go over. Hogan then took the opportunity to grab a steel chair from ringside and bashed the Giant over the head with it. The referee was none-the wiser as Hogan then went around into the referee's view and motioned for him to pay attention to the Giant, who was laying on the floor outside the ring. The referee started the count, and reached the count of 10 at 16:08, declaring the Macho Man the winner by count out. Savage was also unaware of the interference, as he was just now starting to get to his feet as the referee raised his arm as the winner. Clash of the Champions fades out as Savage looks over with a look of suspicion to see Hogan on the outside of the ring. Winner: Randy Savage Rating: 84 Final Show Rating: 86 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday Nitro Card: Brian Pillman vs Hulk Hogan Booker T vs Rick Steiner Dave Taylor & Earl Robert Eaton vs American Males

Hello again everyone, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund here to bring you the WCW Hotline Report! First, ratings from this Monday's shows! WCW Monday Nitro: 3.62 WWF Raw: 1.83 WCW are considered to have "risen" in size and are compared to be a "Big" company now. This obviously is viewed as WCW heading in the right direction! Eddie Guerrero has finished up his loan dates to CMLL and will now return to WCW full-time. Referee's Charles Robinson and Mark Curtis had their current contract deals re-organized. They are now on exclusive written contracts. It's a quick turn-around this week for WCW as they head into Clash of the Champions this weekend. While Clash isn't a typical PPV event, it is treated that way for all intents and purposes for the month of January, as they cool off and re-direct from Starrcade, traditionally. WCW Clash of the Champions WCW World Heavyweight Championship: The Giant vs Randy Savage (c) Cage Match: Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair Lex Luger vs Brian Pillman WCW Television Title: Brad Armstrong vs Lord Steven Regal (c) Faces of Fear vs American Males Steve Austin vs Sting WCW Tag Team Titles - Street Fight: Steiner Brothers vs Harlem Heat (c)

WCW Monday Nitro Week 2, Monday, January 1996 LIVE from the Gainesville O-Dome Attendance: 12,000 (SELLOUT!) - Monday Nitro kicks off in its usual form; full of pyrotechnics and a raging sold-out crowd, here once again at the O-Dome in Gainesville, FL. Eric Bischoff says there's a ton to catch fans up to what's taken place over the weekend on WCW Saturday Night! The Steiner Brother's said in an interview that Harlem Heat can't win against them without cheating, so they challenged the tag team champions to a street fight. Brad Armstrong took exception to Lord Steven Regal cheating to win the TV title, so he challenged him to a title match at Clash of the Champions, coming up in just under two weeks. Ric Flair challenged Ricky Steamboat to a cage match at Clash of the Champions, and, possibly the biggest news of all, Hulk Hogan stated that right here tonight on Nitro, for the first time ever, he will team with Ricky Steamboat to take on Ric Flair and Arn Anderson! There is a huge lineup on Nitro tonight, unlike over at the WORST Wrestling Federation where Diesel beat Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event, Shawn Michaels beat Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Ahmed Johnson, and the 1,2,3 Kid to retain the IC title, Razor Ramon & Bret Hart beat the Warrior & Psycho Sid, yadda, yadda, yadda. You're going to miss nothing on Raw, so stay right here on Nitro where they're going to go backstage with Mean Gene Okerlund, who's standing by with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson! - Gene: Gentlemen, over the weekend on WCW Saturday Night, Hulk Hogan stated that right here, TONIGHT on Nitro, you two will take on the first-ever team of Hulk Hogan and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat! Mr. Flair, there's been a ton of tension between you and Ricky Steamboat, as of late and Arn Anderson, you have been targeting Hulk Hogan lately as well. Tonight, the both of you get your supposed wish and get them both in the ring tonight! Flair: Mean Gene! It's laid out in real simple terms so that even Ricky Steamboat can understand it! I don't like him! He's been a pain in my ass for years now and just when I thought I was done with him, he comes back around! Everyone's seen me wrestle rings around Steamboat, first at World War 3, then at Starrcade. Time limit be damned, everyone knows I was the better competitor in those matches! So we're done with time limits and we're gonna go into a cage! Me and Steamboat! Two men enter - one man exits! It's that simple, pal! Once and for all, I'm gonna be through with you and I'll prove that I'm the better man! After Clash of the Champions Steamboat, you'll have no excuse to ever step foot in the ring with the Nature Boy again! Up until then, it's all just softening you up and getting you just the way I want you at Clash! Tonight, you think teaming with Hogan is going to help you?!?! Myself and Arn Anderson know how to deal with Hogan and besides, Hogan's too afraid to go one on one against the Enforcer, isn't that right Arn?!? Anderson: That's unquestionably without a doubt, Nature Boy! Ya see, I knew that simply coming out to the ring, or conducting an interview and challenging Hulk Hogan wasn't going to cut it! I knew that Hulk Hogan wouldn't bother responding, because Hulk Hogan's nothing but a coward. Hulk Hogan, you think by ignoring me that I'll go away? You couldn't be more mistaken. I knew exactly how to get under your skin, and last week, myself and the Nature Boy proved it. Tonight, Hulk Hogan, is just a sneak peak at how myself and the Horsemen plan on making your life a living hell! Rating: 82 Paul Orndorff & Hugh Morrus vs American Males vs This was a completely random team thrown together, but Paul Orndorff shocked everyone when he had the best performance in the match. The old guy proved that he could still show the younger talent a thing or two. During the match, the commentary booth also mentioned that over the weekend on Saturday Night, the Faces of Fear will take on the American Males at Clash of the Champions. The Males won the match by pin at 7:46. Winners: American Males Rating: 60 TV Title Match: Johnny B. Badd vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs While Regal's performance stood out as good, Johnny B. Badd's, despite always getting a great reaction from the crowd, left much to be desired as far as in-ring work. Regal put this one away at 10:12 after making Badd submit to the Regal Stretch. Winner: Steven Regal Rating: 66 - Following a commercial break, cameras return to Nitro in the backstage area. Randy Savage and the Giant are engaged in a wild brawl and Savage is using a multitude of weapons, really anything within grasp, to use against the Giant, who's doing his best to knock them aside. Savage is heard yelling, but nothing can be deciphered in what he's saying. Officials are able to separate the two men and Savage then turns, making a direct path toward the stage and arena entrance. - Rating: 89 Savage's music immediately hits the speakers and the crowd get on their feet as the Macho Man storms out through the stage and walks down the short ramp to the aisle. He skips his usual stage taunt and there are no fireworks going off behind him this time. The announcers say it's clear that Savage is a determined man at the moment and climbs right in the ring before demanding a microphone. Savage: I've had it up to ~here~ with two men who go by the name of Hulk Hogan and the Giant!! I'm sick and tired of Hulk Hogan wanting to interject himself into my world title reign and I'm sick and tired of the Giant getting opportunity after opportunity to defeat the Macho Man! Ever since winning the title, I've tried to make my title reign about ONE man....The Macho Man! Yet, Hulk Hogan has somehow, like always, turned it around to be about himself. YEAH! Let's get one thing straight, Hulk Hogan isn't the WCW World Heavyweight Champion! I AM! As for the Giant, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not afraid of the Giant and I'm out to prove once and for all that I can beat the Giant, and I'm out to prove that I don't need or want anyone's help, especially you, Hulk Hogan!!! So Giant, I challenge you to a match at Clash of the Champions for the World Heavyweight Title! OOOOOOOHH YEAAHHHHHH! Rating: 82 Hulk Hogan & Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs This match definitely had the crowd buzzing and critics gave both Hogan and Flair the same performance rating, comparing it to a 90/100. Flair spent a majority of the match trying to dodge Steamboat, though he would turn into Hogan, whom he equally wanted to stay away from. Arn Anderson, true to his word in the interview, wasted little time taking the fight to Hogan. The match was never really organized and saw Anderson/Hogan and Flair/Steamboat pairing off through most of it. The finish came at 12:58 when Brian Pillman and Steve Austin hit the ring. They attempted to hit Hogan behind the referee's back, only for the Immortal one to duck out of the way. They ended up clubbing Arn Anderson instead. Hogan then proceeded to hit the Leg Drop for the win, though things didn't end there. Winners: Hulk Hogan & Ricky Steamboat Rating: 89 - An instant after the bell rings, and no time to even celebrate their win, Brian Pillman and Steve Austin blindside Hogan. Steamboat tries to get in the ring to help, but the numbers are too much when Flair and Anderson cut him off. It's 4 on two and both Steamboat and Hogan are taking a beating when the crowd suddenly jumps to life and attention turns toward the stage. Cameras catch up with the fans and center on the aisle to see two men running out at a full sprint; Sting and the Total Package slide in the ring, which promptly causes the quick exit of the 4 Horsemen. The stable regroups at the aisle way as they stare into the ring as Sting and Luger are helping Steamboat and Hogan to their feet. Despite being run off, the Horsemen appear to be happy with the destruction they've left in the ring as Nitro fades out. - Rating: 91 Final Show Rating: 88

I can't deviate too far away from classic WCW! My 1996 WCW is full of twists and turns, stay tuned!

WCW Monday Nitro Week 1, January 1996 LIVE from the Gainesville O-Dome, Gainesville, FL Attendance: 12,000 (SELL OUT!) - Monday Nitro kicks off for the first time in 1996! Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone to Nitro and the jam-packed sold out crowd is going nuts following the usual large firework intro. Bischoff asks Heenan and Tenay their predictions for 1996; Bobby Heenan thinks this year is going to belong to the Horsemen and reestablishing their dominance in the pro wrestling scene. Mike Tenay see's the Television title becoming more prominent along with a new champion. Eric Bischoff likes their thoughts and says that he thinks 1996 will bring a whole new direction to the world of professional wrestling and wonders when tension will boil over between the WCW Champion Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. Bischoff says this sold out crowd is ready for action and Mean Gene Okerlund is in the ring and ready to get down to business! - Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, it's safe to say we've kicked off 1996 on a huge wave of momentum! We are LIVE tonight from Gainesville, FL and I want to start the evening off by introducing two men who fought last night at Starrcade against a couple of relative thorns in their side by way of the 4 Horsemen. Please join me in welcoming, The Total Package Lex Luger and Sting!!! Gentlemen, last night at Starrcade, you took on one half of the 4 Horsemen, Brian Pillman and Steve Austin. Experience came away the victor in that match after a tremendous battle. Where do the two of you go forward from here, and is your feud with the 4 Horsemen over, once and for all??? Luger: Gene, if there's one thing the Stinger and myself know, is that you can never predict what another man will do! Last night we had a battle with two guys who just love to stick their nose in your face and get under your skin! In fact, I don't know that there's anyone better here in WCW than Pillman and Austin! Add in that they're learning from two guys like Ric Flair and Arn Anderson and that amplifies it by quite a bit! Last night, there's no question that the better team won and the Stinger and myself have been doing this long enough to know when it's time to put up, or shut up, and last night was the time to let the 4 Horsemen know that they aren't the only big dogs here in WCW! Sting: The Total Package is right, Gene! I've had so many battles with Ric Flair and the Horsemen that I'm not sure that battle will ever end! What I can tell you right now is that Steve Austin is pretty confident for a guy who just lost last night! I've heard a few rumors going around that Pillman and Austin might just be a more regular team and go after the tag team titles.....Well it just so happens that maybe, just maybe, the Total Package and the Stinger might be thinking about going after those titles too! One thing's for sure though, Gene, and that's wherever Brian Pillman and Steve Austin are, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson are sure not far behind! Gene: Lex Luger, if I could ask you both separately, what do you think is in store for you in 1996, now that you're fully back in the fold of WCW? We all take a moment to reflect and think about new year's resolutions, Gene, and I'm no different. In the past few days when I've sat and thought about all the accomplishments in my career, the things I've done, the places I've traveled, and more importantly, the friend's I've made, it makes me extremely thankful! It makes me wonder if I've accomplished all there is to accomplish in professional wrestling. Well I'm only 37 years old, and while that might be getting up there for an athlete, I can tell you for sure that I'm in the best shape of my life, in the best company in the world, with the best friend anyone could ask for....Gene, I think 1996 is going to be a very very big year for me! And what about you, Sting?? Gene, it's been a long time since the Stinger has had a look at the world title and I'm itching to get back to it...As for what's in store for 1996?? I guess we'll have to wait and find out! Rating: 92 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Earl Robert Eaton vs This was a surprisingly good opener between two guys who, you'd think, have clashing styles. The former "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton proved that he still is quite capable of putting on a solid match while the relatively unknown Rey Misterio dazzled the sold out crowd with his high flying moves and quickness. Misterio picked up his second win in WCW with his impressive springboard Hurricanrana into a pin at 7:54. Winner: Rey Misterio Jr. Rating: 77 Gene: Folks, welcome back to Monday Nitro (after commercial), we are right in the middle of the action just one day removed from WCW Starrcade and the night's only heating up! At this time, I'm going to introduce two individuals who fought in last night's main event! The man I'm introducing first, some say, should have the world title around his waist but last night he seemed more intent on destroying his opponent rather than winning a title - The Giant! - The Giant walks out, slowly making his way to the ring and climbs in before stepping next to Mean Gene. There's little taunting or reaction on the Giant's end and he seems more focused to this confrontation. Gene introduces the World Champion next, to a loud roar from the crowd. - Gene: Now, gentlemen, I don't think I need to remind you that I expect things to remain civil through the course of this interview. What I want to do is give the both of you an opportunity to address one another regarding last night's main event, and furthermore, I think you both owe it to the fans to explain why last night did not result in a definitive winner. Giant, since you were the cause of last night's disqualification, I'll start with you; You've made no secret about your desire to become world champion and last night you had a perfect opportunity to do so, but you instead took the chance to inflict more damage to Randy Savage. Why? Giant: Haha. Why? You want to ask why, Gene? Do you ask a dog why it chews on a bone? Do you ask a spider why it traps its prey in a web? Why do any of us do the things we do, Gene? It's really simple. See, when you're as big as me, when you're as mean as me, when you're as strong as me, there's no time table for anything, Gene. I can become world champion at any time I want. It's not a matter of winning and being done, Gene. I proved last night that the Macho Man is on borrowed time, and I can choose whenever I want to defeat him for that belt. I'm merely enjoying the pursuit, Gene. Gene: I'm not sure I understand the mentality, but I digress. Macho Man Randy Savage, your title reign has been marred by, as many believe, Hulk Hogan being front and center of all your actions. Last night you finally had an opportunity to prove your worthiness as world champion without Hulk Hogan's interference, but came up short... Macho Man: I'm gonna cut you off right there Mean Gene....I'm still standing here, aren't I?!?! YEAH! The fact of the matter is, last night the Giant did everything he could to put the Macho Man away, but he couldn't get it done! NOPE! The Macho Man may be a bit bruised, but the Macho Man is still kickin! It doesn't matter what Hulk Hogan does, and it doesn't matter what the Giant does, because it ain't gonna be enough to keep me down! I'm not afraid of the Giant just like I'm not afraid of any other man on the planet! You wanna keep going after me, be my guest! As far as Hulk Hogan goes, I'm not in this ring to talk about Hulk Hogan! I'm here to talk about the man standing in front of me right now, and that's the Giant! I'll take on the Giant again any time, any place, and I ain't backing down! OOOOHHHHH YEAHHH! Rating: 98 Faces of Fear vs Steiner Brothers vs This match featured two teams who seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. The Faces of Fear continue to move up the ranks within the WCW tag team division, proving their dominance with a convincing win last night at Starrcade while the Steiners, newly returned to WCW, are trying to find their footing. While they've challenged the past couple of PPV's for the titles, they've come up short in beating Harlem Heat, though it's always been less-than-clean wins for the champions. In either case, the Steiner's had visibly had their morale drop as they struggle to claim the titles. This match was another hard-hitting affair and allowed the Steiners to find that footing they were so desperate to get. The Steiners picked up the much needed win at 7:31 after a Steiner Bulldog. Winners: Steiner Brothers Rating: 72 - DDP conducts a recorded promo where he spends time talking about how great he is and how he will once again re-claim the Television Title. - Rating: 70 - Following a commercial break, chaos ensues in the backstage area, but not by people you would assume. Eddie Guerrero and Steven Regal are in the midst of a wild fight backstage, as Guerrero is still pretty upset with how he lost the TV title just 24 hours before to the Lordship. The fight is eventually broken up by officials but not before Eddie yells that things aren't over between the two. - Rating: 70 Ric Flair vs Hulk Hogan vs Hulk Hogan, surprising to many, had the performance of the night, being compared to a 89/100 rating. Flair wasn't too far behind, either and kept the crowd on the edge of their feet. Both men used their exceptional psychological skills to keep the fans engaged, even when there wasn't particularly anything exciting going on. It was a classic good guy vs bad guy match until Arn Anderson got involved. The Enforcer had been at ringside and was constantly distracting Hogan, but it was finally enough at 14:41. Hogan had the match won and was going for his Leg Drop when Anderson clubbed Hogan from behind, right in front of the referee. The bell rang in disqualification, though events were far from over... Winner by Disqualification: Hulk Hogan Rating: 81 - The bell rings but the Horsemen pay it no mind as they continue their attack on Hulk Hogan. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson work in unison as they continue to beat on the Hulkster. There can be some cheers heard in the Florida crowd, for the attack the Horsemen are conducting, but there's also a louder chorus of boo's. The two grab Hogan to his feet and send him to the ropes. On rebound, Arn Anderson catches Hogan with his patented Spinebuster. Hogan convulses on the mat like he's having a seizure before Flair grabs one of Hogan's legs and motions for the Figure Four. He locks Hogan in it, who is now screaming in agony as his leg's on the verge of breaking. Suddenly the crowd comes to life, screaming loudly as the attention turns to the stage. The cameras don't catch it until a subject slides into the ring - - Ricky Steamboat slides into the ring and immediately goes after Arn Anderson, promptly sending him over the top rope with a clothesline. With having Hogan locked in the Figure Four, Flair was at a severe disadvantage. He tried desperately to unlock the hold, but Steamboat was too quick for him, grabbing Flair by the hair and getting him to his feet. Flair tried to throw a few punches, only to be dodged by Steamboat. He sent Flair into the rope and on rebound, caught Flair with one of his classic chops. Flair flopped like a fish out of the water before rolling under the bottom rope where he reconnected with Arn Anderson. The two retreated up the aisle while Steamboat helped Hulk Hogan to his feet and checked on him as Nitro fades to a close. - Rating: 94 Final Show Rating: 88

Let me start off by saying Old School Fan, you sneaky little devil, calling out the Macho Man's DQ victory at Starrcade! It's almost like you were able to look into my save gave for the result, good call!!!!! WCW Starrcade Buy Rate: 7.66 1995 End of the Year Awards: Wrestler of the Year: Bret Hart Tag Team of the Year: Owen Hart & Yokozuna Young Wrestler of the Year: Sean Waltman Veteran Wrestler of the Year: Jerry Lawler Female Wrestler of the Year: Akira Hokuto Independent Wrestler of the Year: Mick Foley Company of the Year: WWF Most Improved Company: No winner Match of the Year: Diesel def. Razor Ramon in In Your House: October 1995 (cage match): 100 Rating Card of the Year: WWF In Your House October 1995: Rating: 94 Manager of the Year: Billy Graham Announcer of the Year: Jim Ross Color Commentator of the Year: Dusty Rhodes Referee of the Year: Charles Robinson Top 10 Workers: 1. Bret Hart (97 Avg. Rating) 2. The Undertaker (95 Avg. Rating) 3. Shawn Michaels (92 Avg. Rating) 4. Scott Hall (89 Avg. Rating) 5. Sid Vicious (97 Avg. Rating) 6. Ultimate Warrior (88 Avg. Rating) 7. Diesel (92 Avg. Rating) 8. Mick Foley (81 Avg. Rating) 9. Sean Waltman (80 Avg. Rating) 10. Steve Williams (75 Avg. Rating) As you can see, the numbers are quite skewed toward the WWF. Sting was the first wrestler on my roster to make the list at #28 with an average match rating of 77. He went 19-2 for the short year. Not much news to pass along other than WCW signed a broadcasting deal with TV Asahi to show events in Japan. WCW Monday Nitro January, Week 1 1995 Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair Faces of Fear vs Steiner Brothers Rey Misterio Jr. vs Earl Robert Eaton I also want to thank everyone for their support in this! I know most of the time it isn't perfect and some things may not make much sense. In all honesty, it took me a long time to chug through 1995 and get into this save. Once I was able to get through most stuff and start branching out stories on my own, I think it really picked up steam, but I didn't want to deviate too drastically for the rest of 1995. I will say there are a lot of things that happen in 1996, so hopefully it gets a lot more exciting. I'm especially looking forward to getting into 1997 because there is a MASSIVE bombshell to take place that no one could have predicted. I think you guys will find it particularly amusing. I will also be happy to start incorporating predictions into awards once we get to present day. Thank you again everyone, and I hope you're all enjoying it!

Week 4, Sunday, December 1995 LIVE from the RFK Stadium - Washington, D.C. Attendance: 51,819 WCW Starrcade - We've finally made it here, STARRCADE! The long-awaited moment has finally arrived. The broadcast begins with a packed crowd in the RFK stadium and a huge pyro display goes off. Eric Bischoff, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome us all to the biggest show of the year, Starrcade! Bischoff tells us that tensions have been running high ever since Halloween Havoc and the controversy surrounding the WCW World Heavyweight Title. Hulk Hogan has claimed to be the rightful champion after being stripped of the title under questionable means by the WCW Board of Directors. He has made numerous attempts to get a match with the current champion, Randy Savage, however, the tension between those two is at an all-time high. Savage feels that other competitors are more deserving of a title opportunity rather than Hulk Hogan, who he says has put a stranglehold on the championship scene. Hogan was infuriated even more after Savage accepted a title challenge from the Giant not long after the Macho Man denied a challenge from Hogan. Mike Tenay runs us down the Tag Team and Television title happenings. Harlem Heat made it a mission to become the top WCW tag team and prove their worth by a long title reign. They seemed to be doing just that until the Steiner Brother's abruptly made a shocking return to WCW only to go right after the champions. Harlem Heat hope to prove their position within WCW tonight by defeating the Steiner's and successfully defending the titles. On the TV title side, Diamond Dallas Page was enjoying a successful run as champion and perhaps became a little too over confident, which cost him the title against Eddie Guerrero. Blue Blood Lord Steven Regal has been working to build up his momentum in recent weeks to challenge for the title. Regal, he points out, is no stranger to the championship, as he is a former 2-time TV champion and looks to use his experience to become a 3-time champion here tonight. Eric Bischoff says talent has been arriving all day long and everyone seems to be on the top of their game tonight. He's not seen one person backstage who isn't 100% focused tonight and that Sting and "The Total Package" are backstage with Mean Gene Okerlund to kick off Starrcade with an interview. - Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to WCW Starrcade!!! Joining me right now are two men who have had their hands full these past several weeks. Gentlemen, you have once again become targets of the 4 Horsemen and Sting, you sir, seem to run into them at every corner. Sting: AHHH Gene!!! If there's one thing the Stinger can always count on, no matter what place I may be in my life, is that I can always count on the Horsemen to be a thorn in my side! As a matter of fact, Gene, if I didn't have the Horsemen to occupy my time, I....Oh, I don't know, maybe, just MAYBE, I could...Oh, maybe go after the world title or something....But NO! I have to have the Horsemen constantly be a problem. It doesn't matter which Horsemen it is, it doesn't matter who happens to be a part of their group at any given time, they always wanna go after the Stinger! Tonight it just happens to be Brian Pillman and Steve Austin. I've had my run ins enough with both of those guys and tonight they're gonna find out why you don't mess with the Stinger and the Total Package! Luger: Gene, the Stinger's exactly right! Ya know, I don't think I could have put it any better myself. The fact of the matter is, I came back to WCW not only because this is where the big boys play, not only because WCW has the greatest competition and the greatest athletes, but because I wanted to be there to back up my best friend! Now, the Stinger and I have had our fair share of differences, but when it comes down to it, we've always been there for each other! The Horsemen are the exact opposite! They use people for their own advantage, and the Stinger and I know all there is about that! They used us for all we were worth, and when they had enough, they kicked us to the curb like a piece of junk! I'll give out fair warning to Pillman and Austin right now, because I see a ton of potential in the two of them, Gene. Brian, Steve, the two of you better watch your backs because Flair and Arn Anderson will get rid of the two of you as soon as you're done being useful to them! But Gene, that's not my main goal tonight, to give warning...My goal tonight is to inflict as much pain and suffering on Pillman and Austin and to hear them beg and plead for mercy when I'm cranking their spine in the Torture Rack! - Sting and Luger walk off, full of energy and slapping each other on the shoulders, leaving Gene to contemplate their message before kicking it back to Eric Bischoff at ringside. - Rating: 91 Arn Anderson vs Perry Saturn vs Not much was known about this Perry Saturn guy but Mike Tenay spoke his praises, claiming he will be a top superstar in the years to come. It was clear in this match though, that now was not that time. Arn Anderson far surpassed him as far as performance in the ring went and the match ended at 7:56 after Anderson hit his patented Spinebuster on the younger Saturn. Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 68 Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, joining me right now is none other than the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, the Macho Man, Randy Savage!!! Mr. Savage, tonight you have a very daunting task ahead of you as you defend that world title against the largest athlete today, the unstoppable monster known as the Giant. You accepted a challenge from him after already turning down Hulk Hogan....The question I have to ask, Macho Man, is why on earth would you ever take a match against the Giant over anyone else?!? You wanna ask why Mean Gene Okerlund?!?! Well the Macho Man'll give ya an answer! Ya see, Mean Gene, the Macho Man has to prove myself not only to all the WCW fans...The Macho Man has to prove myself NOT ONLY to all the wrestlers in the back, the Macho Man has to prove myself....TO MYSELF!!! Ya see Gene, I became WCW champion after beating 58 other guys at the World War 3 battle royal. Some would say that's proving enough...But NOT THE MACHO MAN! Nope! I'm gonna cement my reign as champion by taking on the most difficult task there is, and what better way to do that than by taking on a 7'4" 500lbs Giant?!?! I got something to prove, Gene, and tonight's the night that the Macho Man does it! Well, Macho Man, that's certainly one way to do it, but don't you think Hulk Hogan deserves a rematch for that very title, seeing as he was the last champion?? Gene, Hulk Hogan deserves nothing! What makes him the number one contender, just because he lost it? Hulk Hogan was the champion and now he is no longer! If Hulk Hogan wanted to keep this title, Gene, than he should've been a bit more in control of himself, if ya know what I mean! Hulk Hogan is gonna have to do just the same as everyone else and GET IN LINE, NOT JUMP THE LINE! DIG IT! (After Savage walks off) - Randy Savage telling someone to be more in control of himself is quite the statement...Back to you, Eric. Rating: 86 Lex Luger & Sting vs Brian Pillman & Steve Austin vs The crowd was extremely anxious for this match and all four competitors did a great job at using their charisma and ability to play to the crowd perfectly. While all competitors went after each other, the match was mostly split with Luger and Pillman pairing off and Sting and Austin. Although both teams were experienced in teaming with each other, the edge had to go with Pillman and Austin, who were former WCW tag team champions together as the Hollywood Blondes. That was ages and personalities ago, however, as the glitz and glamor has now been replaced with calculating viciousness and attitude. This was a fantastic match and was given plenty of time to tell a story in the ring. The ending came at 17:41 when Sting connected off the top rope with a Stinger Splash on Austin for the pin fall victory. Winners: Sting & Lex Luger Rating: 82 Television Title: Lord Steven Regal vs Eddie Guerrero (c) vs The first title match of the night didn't disappoint. Both Regal and Guerrero showcased their in-ring talent in this match and both paired well with one another. Regal tried to keep the match on the mat as much as possible and Guerrero used his speed and high-flying ability to his advantage. The problem Regal had, though, was when he did keep it on the mat, Guerrero was mostly able to match it, resulting in this being quite the technical showcase. Eddie definitely had something to prove as he hoped to defend his title. In the end, though, it wasn't enough, not because Eddie couldn't keep up, but because Regal pulled a foreign object from his tights, blasting Eddie with what appeared to be brass knuckles. Eddie collapsed to the mat and Regal got the pin fall victory at 12:16 to become the new champion! Winner and NEW TV Champion: Lord Steven Regal Rating: 80 Nasty Boys vs Faces of Fear vs The WCW tag team division continues to impress with several capable teams. The announcers touch on the possibility of Sting and Lex Luger joining in on the competition along with Brian Pillman and Steve Austin. They think if that happens, the competition within the division could be at an all-time high. That would really signify the importance of whoever wins this match. The reality though, is this was just a wild brawl from beginning to end. Meng had the best performance out of everyone and subsequently ended up the victor after catching Jerry Sags in the Tongan Death Grip at 7:46. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 67 Following a short promotional break, cameras return to the backstage area where Ric Flair is standing in front of a dark backdrop. He's flanked by his stable; Brian Pillman to his right, Steve Austin to his left, and the Enforcer standing just behind Flair's left side. Ricky the Dragon Steamboat....A man I thought was well and gone out of the picture! Lo and behold just a couple of months ago, you make a surprise return not only to WCW, but to the ring! Steamboat, the best thing you ever did for yourself was retire! You should've kept it that way pal, because after I'm through with you tonight, I'm going to remind you why you should've stayed retired! Tonight's a 20 minute time limit match. I'm going to make you suffer for 19 and a half minutes, Steamboat! You're too beat up, too broken down, too rusty to probably even make it that far! That's just a warmup for the Nature Boy!!! Maybe after tonight, Steamboat, you'll finally realize that you're not on the same level as Ric Flair! Hell, the Enforcer and I had our problems with you back in the 80's! Austin had problems with you in the early 90's, and it seems you're making your way back again! Steamboat!?!?! It's your funeral, pal!!! And the Horsemen are gonna make sure you're buried once and for all - FOR GOOD! WWHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Rating: 92 Tag Team Titles: Steiner Brothers vs Harlem Heat (c) vs This was another match the crowd was extra hyped for, though something just seemed off in this bout. While Scott Steiner had the best performance out of the bunch, each worker seemed off and definitely did not live up to their ability. Sensuous Sherri was at ringside and got involved at every opportunity. After finally having enough of her antics, the referee directed Sherri to leave ringside and go backstage. The troubling part was while he was trying to send Sherri away, this allowed Booker T to blindside Rick Steiner with a tag team title belt. Stevie Ray went for the pin just as the referee was turning around. The pin was counted and the match ended at 11:44. Winners: Harlem Heat Rating: 77 Diamond Dallas Page vs Johnny B. Badd vs Johnny B. Badd was clearly in the Christmas spirit, as he came out to the ring in a Santa hat and carried a bag of toys. Diamond Dallas Page was in no mood for theatrics though and promptly took the bag and booted it into the crowd. That was about the main highlight of the match as DDP hit the Diamond Cutter at 8:48 to score the win. Tenay believes this is DDP's attempt to get back into the TV title picture. Winner: Diamond Dallas Page 20 Minute Time Limit: Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair, by far, had the performance of the night. Following the show, there were many critics who described Flair's performance as a 95/100 and raved about how well he did. Steamboat was also no slouch in this match, proving he could still go nearly just in the same step as Flair. The pace of the match began extremely slow, to Flair's liking. He toyed with Steamboat non-stop and exited the ring any time it seemed like Steamboat was about to get an offense started. When he finally did get his hands on Flair, the crowd exploded. From then on, Steamboat was on the offense and Flair had no choice but to eventually beg for a timeout. That never came....Exactly. After back and forth action, just as Steamboat was getting another wind of offense, the bell abruptly rang. The referee waived the match off and the crowd rumbled their disapproval. To the excitement of the announcers, they proclaimed that Steamboat once again had gone the distance against Ric Flair. The bell ringing was due to the 20:00 time limit. Steamboat had a dejected look on his face while Flair's appeared more of relief. Time Limit Draw! Rating: 89 Scott Norton vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Following the exhausting match there was a brief promotional video, this time hyping the next event for WCW; Clash of the Champions, coming in January 1996! Next is a match which mostly featured Scott Norton completely dominating Jim Duggan. Norton scored the pin fall win at 7:32 after hitting a Shoulder Breaker. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 53 - The Giant appears backstage for a promo, giving the fans in a chance to catch their breath. He threatens the very well being of the Macho Man and promises he will do whatever it takes to become the world champion. He finishes by saying there's nothing and no one that can beat a Giant. - Rating: 72 - Cameras switch once again to Mean Gene who is now standing with Hulk Hogan. You didn't think WCW would hold its biggest PPV of the year and not have Hogan on it, did you? - Hulk Hogan, I'm sure that you're going to be paying very close attention to this next match, a match, I might add, that you requested to have you in it...Though you were turned down by the Macho Man Randy Savage.... Well ya know something, Mean Gene!?!?! There's nothing that chaps my hide more than the fact that the Macho Man tucked tail and decided to run away from the Hulkster, man! I've been a friend to the Macho Man for a long time, brother. I've given the Macho Man everything to the shirt off my back, dude, and you would think that the least he could do is provide Hulk Hogan with a fair and equal shot to regain my title belt, brother! He couldn't even do that! I had my title taken away from me on a bogus reason and was told it was by the WCW board of directors! Well let me tell ya Gene, that ever since I had my title STOLEN from me, I've not been given one opportunity to get it back! Well that just doesn't cut the mustard with Hulk Hogan! Oh you can bet without a doubt, Gene, that I'll be paying close attention to this match! It makes no difference to me who wins, whether it's the Macho Man or the Giant brother, because Hulk Hogan is through with asking nicely for a title match. Hulk Hogan is through with doing things the right way. I WILL get my belt back brother, whether I've gotta go through hell or high water to do it! Hulk Hogan is through with playing nice! Rating: 99 WCW World Heavyweight Title: The Giant vs Randy Savage (c) vs It's finally time for the defining match. The questions will all be settled. Is the Giant the unstoppable force he claims to be, or will the Macho Man solidify his position as WCW Champion by defeating this monstrous task? The time for questions is over and all that's left is the two competitors to fight. Savage was using his quickness at every opportunity but it all seemed to be thwarted at every attempt by the Giant. Both men were about equal with each other when it came to performance in the match, which more so said something for the Giant. Savage was able to gain some success in quick top rope assaults, reeling the Giant. He tried it one too many times though as the Giant caught Savage on one final attempt. He caught Savage and then lifted him high into the air, crashing him down hard onto the mat with a Chokeslam! Everyone thought the match was now over, but rather than go for the pin, the Giant appeared that he wanted to go for the kill. He sent Savage out onto the floor where he picked him up in a bear hug before ramming Savage back first into the ring post. He did this two more times, each time ignoring direction and protests from the referee. Finally, with Savage on the floor and writhing in pain, the Giant lifted the floor mats, exposing the cold, hard, unforgiving concrete underneath. The Giant picked Savage up to his feet before grabbing his huge hand around Savage's throat. The referee warned the Giant not to chokeslam Savage onto the unprotected floor, but he did it anyway. Savage crashed down onto the floor with a sickening thud. The referee had no choice but to call for the bell at 18:15 and intervene before any further damage could be done to the world champion. The Giant had a sinister grin on his face and seemed more than pleased with what he had done, despite failing to capture the world title. Savage lay on the floor as he's attended to by medical personnel as Starrcade fades off the air! Winner by DQ: Randy Savage Rating: 81 Overall Show Rating: 83 Stay tuned for the end of the year review and the card for the first Monday Nitro of 1996!

Week 4, December, 1995 Live from the Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, VA Attendance: 11,234 Pre-Show match saw Ricky Steamboat defeat Paul Orndorff in which Steamboat had a great performance, hyping the crowd up for the main show. - Nitro comes on the air and provides fans the usual greeting. A huge pyro display goes off while Eric Bischoff, along with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Mike Tenay welcome us all for tuning in. The arena is packed tonight with a rowdy crowd, ready for action as WCW heads into their biggest show of the year, Starrcade. Eric points out that this is the final Nitro before the big event and everyone is going to be on top form in preparation for the show. We're sent backstage where Lex Luger is warming up and stretching in the hallway before he's approached by an unexpected visitor. - Dave Taylor interrupts Lex Luger's warm up, catching the Total Package off guard. Taylor, dressed in his finest Englishman's attire, tells Luger that he is an unpleasant beast of a man who should go stretch in the confines of his own locker room. Taylor is completely disgusted by the sight of Luger, who's in his ring gear and glistening with sweat. Luger tells him if he has a problem with it, they can settle it in the ring where he'll show him just how unpleasant he can be. Taylor, taken aback by the direct aggression, gasps and says he could be taught a few manners as well. Taylor accepts the challenge and suggests that since Luger seems to be all warmed up, they should have the match now. Luger happily agrees. Rating: 68 Lex Luger vs David Taylor Luger began the match doing a mini-pose down, further disgusting the Esquire but to the delight of the Norfolk crowd. The Total Package gave a stellar performance in this match and didn't have much of a problem with Taylor, though he did manage to get quite a few cheap shots in. The match was given a fairly good amount of time as it ended at 12:27 with a submission via the Torture Rack. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 77 Following the match, we go again backstage to another confrontation - this time another extremely unexpected confrontation. Dean Malenko is walking in the backstage area when he is stopped by none other than Hulk Hogan. Malenko doesn't quite know what to make of it as Hogan tells him he gave a great performance against the Macho Man a couple weeks back and told him he has real promise. Hogan thinks he should put that performance up against the Hulkster right here tonight - In fact, he thinks they should have a match right now, seeing as how they're both in their gear and ready to go. Malenko, still very serious, thanks Hogan for the compliment but knows he has what it takes to go head to head with the top competitors in WCW. Malenko also tells Hogan he has no problem putting his skills on display against Hogan next. Malenko walks off leaving Hogan to contemplate. Bobby Heenan thinks this challenge was moreso for Hogan wanting to one-up the Macho Man. Rating: 83 Dean Malenko vs Hulk Hogan vs Hulk Hogan provided the performance of the night and while Malenko put up a decent performance, he clearly was not as good as when he faced the Macho Man. The man of 1,000 holds was able to get a fair amount of offense in, but it was clear as day who was going to win this match. Hogan put Malenko away in 9:19 after hitting a Big Boot followed by the Leg Drop for the pin fall victory. Winner: Hulk Hogan Rating: 73 Following a commercial break, half of the 4 Horsemen, Ric Flair and Brian Pillman, are backstage to cut a promo. They spent the time running down Sting and Randy Savage and how Sting would be lucky to make it to Starrcade. Flair plans on using this match as a warmup for Steamboat this Sunday and Pillman takes the opportunity to verbally tear apart Sting and Luger. All in all, a typical promo that you would expect from these two. Rating: 98 Ric Flair & Brian Pillman vs Sting & Randy Savage vs All four men brought a tremendous energy to the match and while all did exceptionally well, Ric Flair provided the second best performance of the night. Ric Flair did his best to avoid Savage whenever he was tagged in. Pillman and Flair took turns isolating Sting mid way through the match so he wasn't able to tag in the world champion. When Savage was finally able to get the hot tag, he cleaned house as the crowd roared in approval. The ending came at 14:15 when Sting hit a Stinger Splash on Flair, causing him to tumble out of the ring while Savage hit the Flying Elbow on Pillman for the win. Winners: Sting and Randy Savage Rating: 80 Final Show Rating: 85 - Nitro fades out while Sting and Savage celebrate their win. Eric Bischoff reminds everyone there's still time to purchase Starrcade, only on Pay Per View. Nitro draws to a close for 1995 to leave fans to wonder what's in store for Starrcade! - There will be no Saturday Night review or Hotline Report prior to Starrcade. Looking back, there was no noteworthy news at the time other than Alex Wright getting an injury. He received Patellar Tendonitis and will feel the effects of that for 1 year, 2 months, 2 weeks. It looks as I auto-booked Saturday Night, so I will not post those results. I will post the Starrcade card below and following Starrcade, I will do an end of the year review! WCW Starrcade 1995 WCW World Heavyweight Title: The Giant vs Macho Man Randy Savage (c) Scott Norton vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan 20 Minute Time Limit Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair Diamond Dallas Page vs Johnny B. Badd Tag Team Titles: The Steiner Brothers vs Harlem Heat (c) The Nasty Boys vs Faces of Fear Television Title: Lord Steven Regal vs Eddie Guerrero (c) Lex Luger & Sting vs Brian Pillman & Steve Austin Perry Saturn vs Arn Anderson

Hello everyone, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund with this week's WCW Hotline Report! As always, here are this past Monday's ratings! WCW Monday Nitro: 3.46 WWF Raw: 1.80 Nitro was up again this week in their rating, which is great news! The WWF is heading into In Your House headlined by Diesel defending the WWF title against Yokozuna and Shawn Michaels defending the Intercontinental title against the British Bulldog. There's not much news to report this week, so here's this week's Monday Nitro card, the final show before Starrcade! Ric Flair & Brian Pillman vs Sting & Randy Savage Hulk Hogan vs Dean Malenko Lex Luger vs Dave Taylor (Pre Show): Paul Orndorff vs Ricky Steamboat

Monday, Week 3, December 1995 LIVE from the Carolina Coliseum Attendance: 10,382 - Nitro kicks off on the air tonight and the crowd is ready for action in North Carolina! Just two weeks away, we are, from Starrcade says Eric Bischoff, as he welcomes everyone for tuning in this week. The main event, we're told, is not determined just yet and that the events that took place over the weekend on WCW Saturday Night are sure to boil over to this week's Nitro. Music plays followed by a sinister laugh as the arena lights dim only to be replaced with green. Fog begins to roll from the stage as the largest man in wrestling, The Giant, walks out to the ring. After a moment, the music ends and the Giant has something to say. - The Macho Man Randy Savage made the biggest mistake of his long career this past weekend on Saturday Night. For a few months now, I've made it my mission of taking the WCW heavyweight title and making it my own. I would've won at Halloween Havoc...Then I would've taken it at World War 3......But for the fact that people have to stoop to such low levels just to take me out of the scenario! I'm an unbeatable Giant and there's nothing anyone can do about it!!! Randy Savage, you accepted my challenge for Starrcade, and I'm going to make sure you regret it! Rating: 74 Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. vs The fans weren't quite sure what to think of this unknown masked wrestler by the name of Rey Misterio Jr. Mike Tenay informed all of those watching at home that he is a top competitor in the CMLL promotion out of Mexico. The announcers talk about the relationship between WCW and CMLL that is being formed and that we very well may be seeing many more Mexican wrestlers on WCW programming. The match ended at 10:06 after Rey Misterio hit an amazing looking springboard Hurricanrana into a pin, getting the shocking win over the established Malenko. Rating: 48 Diamond Dallas Page conducts a backstage promo. In this video, DDP singles out Sting, calling him a spoiled wrestler who always has things handed to him. DDP doesn't directly challenge Sting to a match, but makes it crystal clear that he doesn't like him. Rating: 64 Following a commercial break, cameras go to the backstage area where, as usual, it is pure chaos. Hulk Hogan and the WCW World Champion Macho Man Randy Savage are being held back by a slew of WCW officials. Both men are screaming and yelling at the other. Hogan is heard yelling at Savage for being afraid to face him in a match for the title. Savage yells that he's afraid of nothing and owes Hogan nothing and isn't a charity case for Hogan. Eric Bischoff reminds fans that this weekend on Saturday Night, Hogan challenged Savage to a title match at Starrcade, which Savage refused, only for later in the night to accept a challenge at Starrcade by the Giant. Heenan comments that Hogan is always involving himself in the Macho Man's business whenever the spotlight is off him and this is yet another example. The chaotic scene continues as cameras shift to another backstage confrontation.... Rating: 100 w/ Ric Flair is with Steve Austin backstage who are both antagonizing Ricky Steamboat. The three men all make a ton of comments before some spare officials are able to come in to separate them. Austin manages to get a few more words off, which pleases him immensely before they walk off, leaving Steamboat annoyed. Rating: 84 Nasty Boys vs James Boys vs While the Armstrongs were fairly popular WCW mainstays, this match was nothing more than squash fodder for the Nasty Boys, who are still trying to establish themselves as the top contending teams in WCW. This was never going to be a barn burner and the crowd was mostly relieved that it was over at 7:12 after a pin fall by Jerry Sags. Winners: Nasty Boys Following a commercial break, Mean Gene Okerlund is standing at the bottom of the ramp and welcomes everyone back. Gene says he's going to go over the unofficial Starrcade card for everyone right now! Main Event WCW World Heavyweight Title: The Giant vs Macho Man Randy Savage (c) 20 Minute Time Limit: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs Ric Flair WCW Tag Team Title: The Steiner Brothers vs Harlem Heat (c) WCW Television Title: Lord Steven Regal vs Eddie Guerrero (c) Sting/Lex Luger vs Brian Pillman/Steve Austin Mean Gene also says that due to the confrontation backstage earlier tonight, the WCW Board of Directors have made Hulk Hogan vs the Macho Man right here tonight, and that match will be taking place next! Gene also says he will have the complete Starrcade card exclusively on his WCW Hotline Report after next week's Nitro! Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage vs The crowd were pumped for this unexpected main event for this week's Nitro. Hogan was introduced first and appeared to be a man on a mission. Randy Savage was introduced next and sprinted to the ring where he and Hogan promptly began a fight. The ring announcer barely was able to escape the ring before the brawl started. Both men spilled out of the ring where the fight continued, with both men using everything in their grasp to use as a weapon. The bell had sounded and the match official began, though neither competitor really cared. The referee followed both men as they made their way into the crowd and fought. They worked their way through the stands and up the steps and neither man really getting an advantage, just both fighting non stop. The announce team was not clear what the stipulations were of this match, whether it was a title match, no DQ, they didn't know. What they did know was that if this was a normal match, the referee was letting it go. The men slowly made their way back toward the ring, but continued to fight outside. At one point, the Macho Man grabbed the ring bell and attempted to use it as a weapon, only for the referee to grab it from him. This caused Savage to get right in the ref's face, however, the referee stood his ground and threatened Savage. This allowed Hogan to grab a chair which he used on the Macho Man, right in front of the referee. Despite the use, and still not knowing the stipulations, the match continued and the referee yelled for both men to get back in the ring. They ignored the requests and continued fighting. The referee tried to get in between the men and split them up to try and gain some type of order, only for him to be pushed off so the fight could continue. The referee tried this two more times, first being shoved off again. When he tried it a second time, he crashed hard to the concrete floor. It was evident that the referee was unable to gain control of the match and now after being shoved off by both men, he finally called for the bell at 15:14, disqualifying both men. Double Disqualification Rating: 74 Final Show Rating: 82

Hello everyone and welcome to the WCW Hotline Report! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund here to give you all the latest news, but first things first, this week's Monday night ratings! WCW Monday Nitro: 3.42 WWF Raw: 158 WCW had a huge increase in their viewership this week which gives exciting news as they head into their biggest show of the year, Starrcade. WCW and CMLL in Mexico have recently had a very friendly attitude toward each other and WCW has also loaned Rey Misterio Jr, one of their top stars. It is unknown how long Misterio is expected to be around, but you will be seeing him on WCW programming. In return, I'm told that Eddie Guerrero has been traded and will make a few appearances for CMLL. Cactus Jack has signed an exclusive written contract with NJPW. Sonny Onoo's contract with WCW has expired. Here is this weekend's WCW Saturday Night results! WCW Saturday Night Sting def. Booker T Faces of Fear def. Nasty Boys Dean Malenko def. Johnny B. Badd Arn Anderson def. Scott Steiner Diamond Dallas Page def. The Renegade Rey Misterio Jr. def. Sabu There were also quite a few confrontations at Saturday Night. Television Champion Eddie Guerrero and Lord Steven Regal had a confrontation that confirmed they will face each other for the title at Starrcade. Sting and Lex Luger, who have been teaming in recent weeks and possibly making a run for the tag team titles, had a pull apart brawl with Horsemen members Brian Pillman and Steve Austin. In big news of the evening, Hulk Hogan confronted WCW World Heavyweight champion Macho Man Randy Savage and demanded a title shot at Starrcade. The Macho Man refused and stated Hulk Hogan had his run in the spotlight and now it's his turn. This only infuriated Hulk Hogan even more later in the evening when The Giant along with the Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan challenged the Macho Man to a title match at Starrcade, which Randy Savage accepted. We can only imagine how this will play out on Monday Nitro and the weeks leading up to Starrcade. There is no posted card for this week's Monday Nitro, unfortunately.

Week 2, December 1995 LIVE from the Gainesvill O-Dome - Gainesville, FL Attendance: 10,658 - WCW opens this week to the normal display of crowd shots and pyro. The college town is going crazy this week as Eric Bischoff along with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Mike Tenay welcome us all for joining in to Nitro this week. Bischoff gives a brief Saturday Night recap from over the weekend where Hulk Hogan believes he's owed a title match and the new world champion Randy Savage was brutally attacked at the end of the show by the Giant. Bischoff reminds everyone that tensions are running at an all-time high following World War 3 and everyone seems to be heading to a crash course. The crowd, who have calmed down a bit since the opening, comes alive once more when music begins to play in the arena. Bischoff stops mid sentence to look in the direction of the entranceway as the 4 Horsemen all emerge, not short of confidence tonight. They walk down the ramp and pause briefly as Arn Anderson motions to someone off view. A short time later, Mean Gene Okerlund hesitantly walks up as the Enforcer points for Gene to go to the ring with them. The announcers say that it's clear the Horsemen have something to say tonight, and waste no time kicking off Nitro. - Well, Arn Anderson, you and the 4 Horsemen clearly have something to discuss tonight, so what is it you want to say?? Gene, as you know, I'm usually a man of few words, I always have been. I've felt in order for a man to show his worth, and to prove his point, is to back it up with his actions rather than his words. Ya see, any old man can come out here and blow a lot of hot air out of his mouth but then not have any way to back it up with his fists.....I've never been that way. I made it very clear a few weeks ago that I was coming for Hulk Hogan. It's not because I'm envious of him, it isn't even really because I don't like him. It's got more to do with the fact that for the last year and a half, Hulk Hogan has run around WCW like he owns the place. He thinks a red carpet should be rolled out for him wherever he goes. Hulk Hogan, you and I are two very different people. While I've never been fortunate enough to win the world title, you seem to always have a shot at it.....And then when you do have that title, you only decide to work with all your buddies. Well it seems I missed my opportunity to beat you for the title, but I can still beat you in the ring. Hulk Hogan, you've managed to dodge me long enough, but I'm not going to let you dodge me any longer. Oh, and one more thing....See, I'm not the only Horsemen who's put a target on your back, I just happen to be the first one after you.... Rating: 72 Before you wrap up your little interview, Gene Okerlund, I've got a few things that I wanna address too! I said over the weekend on Saturday Night that I'd face Ricky Steamboat right here tonight on Nitro..Steamboat has been worried about Ric Flair for the last couple of weeks, but he better be focused here tonight because we're no strangers to each other. I had to deal with Steamboat years ago and kicked him out of WCW, and if that's what I have to do again, I've got no problem with it! He wanted to stick his nose in the Horsemen's business back at Halloween Havoc, and he's been nothing but a pain in our back sides ever since! Well Steamboat better hope I don't end his career again right here tonight, and that's all I've got to say about it! Rating: 80 Steve Austin vs Ricky Steamboat vs This was a fantastic matchup that had the crowd going, especially after the opening promo's by the Horsemen. Steamboat was again fantastic in the ring and held nothing back. There was a ton of back and forth action and Austin used every cheap tactic in the book. The end of the match came at 11:58 when Steamboat caught Austin a surprise roll-up for the pin fall victory, which had Austin livid following the count. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 78 - Diamond Dallas Page gives a promo backstage where he talks about Eddie Guerrero and the Television title. DDP thinks he deserves another shot at reclaiming the TV title and accuses Eddie of cheating to win. - Rating: 69 Sting/Lex Luger vs The Faces of Fear vs It wasn't the most technical match ever but it was a physical one. Sting and Lex Luger showed great teamwork and were thought to have equal ring performance. The crowd were on their feet and Sting and Luger no doubt proved to be two of the top favored wrestlers in WCW. The match was over at 9:37 after Sting lept high off the top rope and connected with the Barbarian with a cross body, also known as a Stinger Splash off the top rope, gaining the pin fall victory. Winners: Sting/Lex Luger Rating: 69 WCW World Title: Dean Malenko vs Randy Savage (c) vs What seems on paper to be an odd matchup is quickly forgotten once people realized how close their two styles are. Eric Bischoff announced that this match was a direct request of Randy Savage, as he has claimed he wants to have a wide variety of new opponents to challenge for the World Title during his reign. Dean Malenko made the most of his opportunity and performed quite well in the ring against the World Champion. Heenan questioned if this performance would result in more opportunities for the man of 1,000 holds. The end of the match came at 12:05 when Savage hit the Flying Elbow from the top rope to retain his title. Winner: Randy Savage Rating: 80 - The bell barely rings and Savage just gets back to his feet to raise his arm before the Giant hits the ring and clubs Savage down to the mat from behind. The Giant appears like he is stalking prey as he hovers over the World Champion, salivating at his next attack. The Giant brings Savage to his feet but is caught off guard when Savage begins a lightning speed attack of his own, rocking the Giant backwards. Savage hits a running clothesline, again reeling the Giant. Savage looks out to the crowd who roar their encouragement. With their support, Savage runs and bounces off the ropes again, connecting with another huge clothesline that rocks the Giant again, but can't bring him down. Savage again looks out to the crowd who, this time, roar back even louder. With the extra added encouragement, Savage runs again, bouncing off the ropes to try for one more clothesline, with the hopes that this time it will bring the Giant crashing down on the mat. Savage rebounds off the ropes but is stopped dead in his tracks as the Giant reaches his giant hand out and grasps the throat of the World Champion. The Giant shakes his head no and mouths to Savage that he doesn't have enough. The Giant gets prepared to lift The Macho Man high into the air for a chokeslam. As he hoists him high up in the air..... Hulk Hogan hit the ring with a steel chair in hand. He swings the chair and hits it against the Giant's back, causing him to drop the Macho Man. Hogan uses the chair a couple more times on the back of the Giant as he just turns toward Hogan, not feeling the effects at all of the chair. The Giant just shakes his head as he begins to approach the Hulkster. The Giant rears back to swing a fist but Hogan ducks it. As the Giant turns, Hogan cracks the steel chair over the head of the Giant, which causes him to spill outside to the floor, though he lands on his feet. The Giant, who is now joined in the aisle by the Taskmaster, backs his way up the aisle to the stage as they taunt Hogan. - Rating: 82 - As Hogan's attention is on the Giant and Taskmaster, the Macho Man, who is now on his feet, approaches Hogan from behind and grabs him, spinning him around. Hogan drops the chair and looks at Savage in shock. The Macho Man is clearly not pleased with the Hulkster's intervention and Hogan can't understand why Savage has a problem with it. The two men argue back and forth and nearly get nose to nose as Nitro fades off the air. - Rating: 82 Overall Show Grade: 80

WCW Hotline Report Hello everyone, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund bringing you the WCW Hotline Report! It's been a bit since the last report, so we have some news to go over! We'll start with ratings for the Monday shows, two weeks ago and this past Monday Night! Week 4 November 1995 WCW Monday Nitro: 3.03 WWF Raw: 1.60 Week 1 December 1995 WCW Monday Nitro: 2.96 WWF Raw: 1.56 World War 3 Buyrate: 5.89 There was quite a bit of action this weekend on WCW Saturday Night! As you all saw on Nitro, Kevin Sullivan challenged new WCW champion Macho Man Randy Savage to a match. Earlier in the evening, there was a confrontation between Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan where Hogan stated that Randy Savage owed him a title shot...To which Savage replied he owed the former champion nothing and he had to earn a title opportunity like everyone else. In addition, the 4 Horsemen spent quite a bit of time taunting Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Steve Austin challenged him to a match this week on Monday Nitro. Here are the complete results from this weekend's Saturday Night! WCW Saturday Night: Randy Savage def. Kevin Sullivan Brian Pillman/Steve Austin def. Johnny B. Badd/Jim Duggan Hugh Morrus def. Mr. JL Blue Bloods def. Eddie Guerrero/Alex Wright Sting def. The Shark Brad Armstrong def. Big Bubba Rogers Following the main event, the Giant again attacked the Macho Man, so it would appear things are not over between them. Here is the lineup for this week's WCW Monday Nitro! Week 2, December, 1995 WCW Monday Nitro: Main Event: WCW World Heavyweight Title: Dean Malenko vs Randy Savage (c) Sting & Lex Luger vs Faces of Fear Ricky Steamboat vs Steve Austin

Monday, Week 1, December 1995 WCW Monday Nitro LIVE from the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum - Jacksonville, FL Attendance: 9,732 - Excitement is in the air as WCW Monday Nitro kicks off the month of December! Eric Bischoff, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome us for joining in and Bischoff tells everyone that there has been a whole lot of action within WCW, none more important than a brand new WCW World Heavyweight Champion was crowned last night at World War 3! Bischoff says that we're definitely going to hear from the new champion here tonight, and that man is The Macho Man Randy Savage! Heenan says that Savage had to overcome 58 other men last night in order to be champion, so he's no slouch.....But he also says that Hulk Hogan was not one of those men, so he's more than likely going to have to answer to Hogan, who's sure to claim to be the rightful, undefeated champion. Mike Tenay agrees and gives everyone at home a brief rundown of why there were 59 competitors and not the 60, saying that the Horsemen severely beat down Hulk Hogan prior to the battle royal, ensuring he was out of competition. Bischoff lets fans know that Randy Savage is in the building and will be heard from, but first, WCW is going straight to the ring with the first match of the night! - Arn Anderson/Ric Flair vs American Males vs Arn Anderson and Ric Flair were in peak form tonight, blasting the American Males with everything they had, and keeping the crowd on fire throughout. Flair was perfect with his mannerisms and hitting every cheap shot possible as soon as the referee turned his back. Arn Anderson was methodical in his picking apart the younger competitors. The match ended at 10:27 after Arn Anderson hit his patented Spinebuster on Marcus Bagwell for the pin fall win. Winners: Arn Anderson/Ric Flair Rating: 67 Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, it may be the month of December, but WCW is on fire tonight as we're in Jacksonville, Florida! If you'll all allow me at this time, to introduce to you the NEW WCW World Heavyweight Champion, a man who had to go through 58 other competitors last night at World War 3 to become the new champion, and what a war it indeed was, I give you, The Macho Man Randy Savage!!!!!!! - Savage makes his way out to the stage with the big gold belt fastened around his waist. Tonight, the Macho Man is wearing matching gold attire to accentuate the world title. Savage is another who appears to be in fine form tonight, full of energy as he motions out to the crowd, who respond with resounding cheers back. Savage walks to the ring where he climbs in and takes his place next to Mean Gene. - It was indeed a long night last night, Mr. Savage, though it was probably much longer than you, having to go through 58 other wrestlers last night at World War 3. You've maintained that the world championship was your goal upon coming here to WCW and now that you've accomplished that, do you consider your work to be finished??? Mean Gene Okerlund, the Macho Man's work has only just begun!!!! Ya see, even though I had to go through 58 other wrestlers lasts night at World War 3, it wasn't like the Macho Man had to take on 58 wrestlers in a gauntlet!!! The Macho Man didn't throw 58 other guys over the top rope and to the outside! But lemme tell ya right now, Mean Gene, that if the Macho Man HAD to do that in order to become WCW World champion, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'D DO! I've wanted this title more than anything in the world! Mean Gene Okerlund, you've known me a very long time, my friend, and you know that there's nothing the Macho Man loves more than being able to wrestle in this ring! So to answer your question, NO! The Macho Man's work isn't finished by 10,000 miles, and the Macho Man's not going to back down from any thing, or any one! That's probably a good thing you say that, Randy Savage, because I can think of at least two names who might take exception to that world title being around your waist and two men who go by the names of The Giant and Hulk Hogan! Check it out Gene, the Macho Man isn't afraid of a fight and the Macho Man can hang with the very best! Hulk Hogan or the Giant know where to find me because I ain't afraid! Hulk Hogan may have been attacked before the match last night, but you know what Gene, if the Horsemen had attacked me before the match, I wouldn't let anything keep me from having the opportunity to win this title! YEAH! I would have crawled on my hands and knees if that's what I had to do! In either case, I'm not gonna duck any challenge or any fight, so if someone wants a piece of the Madness, then take a number and get in line!! DIG IT! Rating: 85 - The Macho Man's music hits as the interview is wrapped up. The new champion climbs to the middle rope in the corner to get the crowd fired up. Mean Gene says Nitro will be back after a quick commercial break. - Welcome back, everyone to WCW Monday Nitro!!! I think we've got time for one more interview before our next matchup, so at this time, I'd like to welcome two men who are no strangers to WCW, though they just recently returned. Last night they had an opportunity to once again win the WCW tag team titles, though fell short....Please join me in welcoming........The Steiner Brothers! - The Steiner's make their way out to great fanfare and high five the fans on the way down to the ring. They step inside and Mean Gene gets down to business. - Rick and Scott Steiner, you have just returned to WCW and been thrown right into the mix of the tag team division. Last night, you both took on reigning tag team champions Harlem Heat and came up just a bit short, though it was due to some...Questionable actions. Scott Steiner: Gene, there wasn't anything questionable last night, it was flat out blatant! The fact of the matter is, you'd be looking at NEW tag team champions here tonight if it weren't for Sensuous Sherri getting involved and nearly gouging my brother's eyes out! We had em beat, Gene, and everyone saw it! So I'm gonna call it out right now! We've got Starrcade coming up in a few weeks and the Steiner Brother's deserve another shot at the belts! So if Harlem Heat's got any guts, they'll accept another match, but this time we're gonna want a stipulation added, Gene. We want Sensuous Sherri banned from ringside, and if Harlem Heat's as good as they say they are, they'll be able to beat the Steiner Brothers without help from a woman!!!! Rating: 77 Stevie Ray vs Lex Luger w/ vs This was a good match between big men, as in powerful men. Both used their strength to their advantage in this match. As Stevie Ray and Sherri made their way to ringside, Stevie said into the camera that Harlem Heat were all for beating the Steiner's again at Starrcade. The announcers speculated if this was good enough to call the match official. Luger gave a great performance in this match and had the crowd solidly behind him. Sherri made it a point to not get involved at all in this match, though doubtful it would have done any good. The match came to an end at 8:26 as Luger lifted Stevie Ray into the Torture Rack and secured the submission victory! Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 67 - We're taken from the match to a promo next as the screen fades in to a very familiar place. Just when everyone thought the Dungeon of Doom was finished, The Taskmaster is seated on this throne of stones in the Dungeon's........Dungeon. - The Macho Man Randy Savage is the new World's Heavyweight Champion???? I suppose that's better than Hulk Hogan being the world's champion, eh??? Maybe by just a hair, but the Macho Man is so closely aligned with Hogan that they might as well be the same person! The Dungeon of Doom started with the goal of ending Hulkamania. That goal transitioned into not only ending Hulkamania, but getting Hogan to accept the dark side as his true path....To welcome, to embrace the darkness! To join the Dungeon of Doom and go on his path of true righteousness!!!! By completely accepting the dark, he would then realize his true potential! I know that deep down, as much as he fights against it, Hulk Hogan wants to take that carrot that dangles in front of his face! My work with Hulk Hogan isn't done.....But what Randy Savage winning last night has revealed to me.....Heh.....Is something similar. Randy Savage, much like Hulk Hogan, I know you want to accept the darkness! I can see that animal within you just begging to be released! Sometimes the only way to get one to open their eyes to the light is through violence, and Randy Savage, your date with violence is this weekend....WCW Saturday Night.....I challenge you, Macho Man! Put that title on the line this weekend, and allow yourself to be consumed by darkness!!!! Rating: 73 - Mean Gene is earning his month's pay just in this first Nitro of December. He's backstage standing by with Hulk Hogan, who looks none too pleased. - Hulk Hogan, last night you were going to have just the same opportunity to claim the WCW World Heavyweight title that 59 other men had, though the 4 Horsemen made sure you weren't going to be involved in the battle royal. With all the recent events of the last several weeks, I'm sure you have a lot on your mind! That's quite the understatement, Mean Gene!!! If you ask me, brother, the deck's been stacked against Hulk Hogan worse than any joint in Las Vegas, brother! Ever since Fall Brawl, I had to deal with the Dungeon of Doom, brother! I had to look over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't getting jumped by that pack of hyena's! I was threatened every week by the Taskmaster and finally I had enough! I had to dig down and become something I didn't want to be, Mean Gene! I had to become that in order to do the things I had to do! Well WCW decided that at Halloween Havoc, that was too much! That was too violent!! Despite the Giant delivering brutal attacks on myself and the Macho Man, nearly paralyzing me from the neck down, I came back and took on the Giant, brother! They said what I did was unacceptable and stripped me of the world title! Well where was the punishment for what the Giant, what the Dungeon of Doom did to Hulk Hogan, brother??? I'll tell ya, there was none! But they strip Hulk Hogan of the title and then put it up for grabs at World War 3.....I knew I was going to get that title back, brother! I was heading into that match with an unmatched determination! Everyone knew it, especially the Horsemen, so they made sure to take me out of the equation! Where's the punishment for that, Gene?!?! It seems like everyone around here not named Hulk Hogan can run around and do as they please with no consequence! Well if the 4 Horsemen, if Arn Anderson want to bark up that tree, brother, then they need to look out for the giant dog that lurks just around the corner, ready to sink it's teeth into them! And as far as the Macho Man goes, brother, he might be the WCW World Champion as it currently stands, but one thing he's going to have to come to grips with real fast is that NO ONE has beaten me for that title! Rating: 92 Ricky Steamboat vs Dean Malenko vs This match provided great in-ring action as well as maintained the excitement for the crowd. Both men were very skilled at putting on a wrestling clinic and both were fairly evenly matched. Ricky Steamboat made it look like he barely had lost a step in the ring, giving a very good performance. The ending of the match came at 11:42 when Ricky Steamboat hit his beautiful flying cross body off the top rope to get the pin fall win. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 74 Final Show Grade: 79

Monday Nitro Card: Dean Malenko vs Ricky Steamboat Lex Luger vs Stevie Ray Arn Anderson/Ric Flair vs American Males

WCW Presents: World War 3 Attendance: 46,000 We're welcomed to World War 3 by Eric Bischoff, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and Mike Tenay. Cameras show a quick shot of the jam-packed arena before focusing on the three rings centered inside the arena. The announcers hype up the main event battle royal and say a new World Champion will be crowned here tonight, though with 60 competitors, it's impossible to predict who. Each man says who their favorite is; Eric Bischoff says Hulk Hogan's got to be the favorite, Bobby Heenan chooses The Giant, and Mike Tenay chooses Ric Flair. Bischoff says that the first matchup will be the Tag Team title match, but first, they're going to go backstage to Sting; OOOhhhhhh Wow!!!! We're finally here, World War 3! A huge battle royal with everything from Giants, to Macho Men, to Nature Boys, to Enforcers! But there's one thing that beats out all of that, and that's a Stinger! People think Hulkamania's gotten a bit edgier so that's the favorite?!? Well the Stinger can just keep up with the best of em! Tonight, one way or another, there's going to be a new world champion, and it's going to be THE STINGER! Rating: 69 WCW Tag Team Titles: The Steiner Brothers vs Harlem Heat (c) vs The first match on the Pay Per View is one everyone was hyped for. The Steiner Brother's make their in-ring return, and start right off with a tag team title shot. Eric Bischoff reminds everyone that those in matches tonight will be pulling double-duty, which is sure to impact their chances in the battle royal. Heenan seems to think it will be a perfect warm-up for the competitors to give them an advantage. Out of the 4, Scott Steiner had the best performance and it seemed that the other 3 performed well below their abilities. The end of the match saw Harlem Heat have just a bit more momentum. While Booker T and Scott Steiner were fighting on the floor, which grabbed the referee's attention, Sensuous Sherri got on the apron and clawed the eyes of Rick Steiner. This allowed Stevie Ray to get a roll-up, which the referee just happened to turn around in time to see, counting the pin fall win at 10:56. Winners and STILL champions: Harlem Heat Rating: 65 Following the match, we're sent once again backstage for another promo, this time with half of the 4 Horsemen, US Champion Brian Pillman and Steve Austin. Pillman: Hahahaha....Steve, get this, Lex Luger didn't like that I was being mean to his best friend, Sting!!! He made it a point to stand up for his friend because I guess Sting can't talk for himself and is too afraid to deal with me! HaHa! Austin: You've got Lex Luger sticking his nose where it don't belong, and I've got Ricky Steamboat back in my face where it don't belong! I had to deal with Steamboat a couple of years ago and the last thing I need is to deal with him again! I put him on the retirement shelf before, so I guess I'll have to do it again! Hell, we both have guys afraid of us. Sting's afraid of you, and Hulk Hogan's afraid of me! Pillman: It just makes sense, Steve. After tonight, they won't have a choice because I'll say it right here, right now, one of us is going to win the battle royal, and since I'm already the US champion, maybe I'll just help to make sure you get your own gold belt tonight..... Rating: 77 Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, it is World War 3, and I think that's the understatement of the year! We've heard already from so many wrestlers claiming that tonight is their night, and my next guest is sure to make the same claim! Joining me right now is the Macho Man, Randy Savage! You've had quite the path to get here, Mr. Savage. You helped Hulk Hogan with the Dungeon of Doom at Fall Brawl and War Games, last month you had your neck injured at the hands of the Giant, and then at Halloween Havoc, you were attacked by the 4 Horsemen, putting you out of commission. What's your strategy going into tonight? My straaaategy....Uhhhh HUH! That's pretty funny Mean Gene because I'm not sure of annnnny strategy that can be effective in a 60 man battle royal split between 3 rings other than to just go in, take no prisoners, make no friends, and have no morals!! YEAH! There's one thing and only one thing that you can do, and that's attack everyone! The Macho Man's been in more battles than I can count, Mean Gene and when alllllll the smoke clears, when all the dust settles, the MACHO MAN is gonna be the man with the belt! OOOOOOOOH YEAHHHHH!!! Rating: 87 WCW Television Title: Lord Steve Regal vs Eddie Guerrero (c) vs This was a fun, competitive match where both workers meshed nicely. As for performance, the general consensus is that Eddie was slightly better than Regal, though that's not to say he was lacking. Regal's eccentric mannerisms were perfectly countered by Guerrero, that got the crowd laughing. The matchup itself was pretty even, though Eddie got a burst of momentum close to the end. The end came when Eddie signaled it was time for the Frog Splash. Eddie went to grab Regal, who was down on the mat. What Eddie didn't see was Regal going for something in his tights. When Eddie picked Regal up, he was met with a fist full of brass knuckles, right in front of the referee, resulting in a DQ win at 13:10. Winner by DQ: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 77 Once again we're brought backstage where this time Booker T is cutting a promo, hyping his performance in the battle royal. He says he might be a tag team champion, but at the end of the night, he's going to be a double champion, because he's going to win the main event. Rating: 67 Still backstage, one of the downfalls of a huge battle royal for the main event is all of the promo time necessary. This time, the Faces of Fear, with Jimmy Hart, hype up why they're the ones who have the best shot at winning tonight. Mostly it's Jimmy Hart talking while Meng and the Barbarian stare menacingly into the camera. Rating: 65 20 Minute Time Limit: Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair vs Steamboat requested a 60 minute match against the Nature Boy to prove he still is able to go the distance. Ric Flair, in a more sarcastic way, gave Steamboat just 20 minutes. Flair spent the better parts of the beginning toying and taunting with Steamboat. Once he finally managed to get his hands on the Nature Boy, the crowd exploded. Flair did everything he could to beg off the Dragon, but was unsuccessful. Ric Flair, by far, had the performance of the night and really ate up his opportunity to play the bad guy. After back and forth battling and trading pin attempts, the bell sounded at 20:00 to declare a time limit draw, much to the disappointment to the fans as well as the competitors. Winner: Time Limit Draw Rating: 78 Backstage, Diamond Dallas Page hypes up his chances in the battle royal and claims to be the next Heavyweight Champion of the World! Rating: 67 Tony Schiavone is backstage now with the Giant. In this short promo, the Giant says he's going to run over 59 other wrestlers and win the world title, and there's nothing anyone in WCW can do about it. Rating: 66 Remaining backstage, cameras switch to Mean Gene Okerlund who has made his way to the door of the 4 Horsemen's locker room. Outside is Ric Flair, who is sweaty from his match that took place a short time before, but he doesn't appear out of breath. Flair says that he's not finished with Steamboat and he'll pick up right where they left off. He then says he's going to make sure it's the two of them remaining so it'll be even better winning the world title. Rating: 79 WCW takes a short promotional break and when they return, cameras are still backstage, though it's not for a promo. Hulk Hogan is seen stretching and loosening up ahead of the battle royal, which Eric Bischoff tells everyone is coming up next. Hogan is immediately blindsided from behind and drops to the ground as the announcers exclaim their surprise. The 4 Horsemen deliver a brutal attack that's reminiscent of the viciousness of the original Horsemen. They don't just beat Hogan, they flat out assault him. Pillman has ahold of a pipe that he uses and Austin has a chair. Flair and Pillman hold Hogan while Austin bashes him in the head with a chair. When Flair and Pillman again grab Hogan up, his head is now a crimson color as blood pours from his face. Arn Anderson delivers punches while Flair and Pillman hold him up. After a few more moments of a brutal attack, Austin rushes off as two men run in.... Flair, Anderson, and Pillman are shortly behind Austin as they flee the scene, quite pleased with their work. Sting and Luger check on the fallen Hulk Hogan and shortly afterwards, officials and EMT's rush in. The medics work to put Hogan on a stretcher and an ambulance is seen backing into the picture. Two other medics open up the doors and then work to get Hogan put on the stretcher. Sting and Luger assist with getting Hogan loaded into the ambulance as it rushes out of the arena. Eric Bischoff is beside himself, saying the Horsemen made sure that Hogan doesn't make it into the battle royal and that it appears now that there will only be 59 competitors. World War 3 takes one last promotional break, this time a generic promotion of Starrcade, coming up next month! Rating: 85 World War 3 Battle Royal: With a match involving so many competitors, it was quite difficult at most times to keep an eye on the action. All participants started at the same time, splitting each ring 20, 20, and 19, one less in the 3rd ring due to Horsemen intervention. Many guys, such as Perry Saturn, Renegade, and Steve Armstrong, didn't last long at all. Ric Flair continued to be the best competitor of the match, though he was a few steps slower than earlier. The match time itself was 44:56 and the final four competitors was Sting, Randy Savage, The Giant, and Ric Flair. Surprisingly, Sting, Savage, and Flair worked together to eliminate the Giant, triple clotheslining him over the top rope to the floor, although the Giant landed on his feet. Following that elimination, it was an all-out brawl. Savage and Sting showed some teamwork against Flair, but neither shied away from fighting the other. Flair tried sneaking behind the two men while they were fighting, but both men caught Flair. After dealing some damage, both Sting and Savage took a few steps back as Flair was backed up against the ropes. Both men rush toward Flair, looking to eliminate him the same way the Giant was eliminated. At the last second, Flair ducks, resulting in Sting getting flipped over the top rope and to the floor! Sting is now eliminated and two men remain; Ric Flair and Randy Savage. The fight continues, both men drained of energy from being the final two, in addition to Flair having a long match earlier in the night. Neither man wants to lighten up on the other due to the stakes being so high. After Flair cornered Savage and delivered a flurry of punches, he whipped Savage to the opposite corner, but Savage countered! Flair gets sent into the corner, but ends up doing his Flair flip over the turnbuckle. Flair quickly manages to land on his feet and rushes to climb back through the ropes, but Savage uses a burst of quickness to beat him, hitting him with a huge clothesline that send's Flair to the concrete floor outside the ring! The match is over and the Macho Man just outlasted 59 other competitors to become the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion!! Winner and NEW WCW World Champion: The Macho Man Randy Savage Rating: 77 Final Show Grade: 79